101
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Prashanth JR, Dutertre S, Jin AH, Lavergne V, Hamilton B, Cardoso FC, Griffin J, Venter DJ, Alewood PF, Lewis RJ. The role of defensive ecological interactions in the evolution of conotoxins. Mol Ecol 2016; 25:598-615. [PMID: 26614983 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2015] [Revised: 11/23/2015] [Accepted: 11/24/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Venoms comprise of complex mixtures of peptides evolved for predation and defensive purposes. Remarkably, some carnivorous cone snails can inject two distinct venoms in response to predatory or defensive stimuli, providing a unique opportunity to study separately how different ecological pressures contribute to toxin diversification. Here, we report the extraordinary defensive strategy of the Rhizoconus subgenus of cone snails. The defensive venom from this worm-hunting subgenus is unusually simple, almost exclusively composed of αD-conotoxins instead of the ubiquitous αA-conotoxins found in the more complex defensive venom of mollusc- and fish-hunting cone snails. A similarly compartmentalized venom gland as those observed in the other dietary groups facilitates the deployment of this defensive venom. Transcriptomic analysis of a Conus vexillum venom gland revealed the αD-conotoxins as the major transcripts, with lower amounts of 15 known and four new conotoxin superfamilies also detected with likely roles in prey capture. Our phylogenetic and molecular evolution analysis of the αD-conotoxins from five subgenera of cone snails suggests they evolved episodically as part of a defensive strategy in the Rhizoconus subgenus. Thus, our results demonstrate an important role for defence in the evolution of conotoxins.
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Affiliation(s)
- J R Prashanth
- Centre for Pain Research, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - S Dutertre
- Centre for Pain Research, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia.,Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron, UMR 5247, Université Montpellier-CNRS, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - A H Jin
- Centre for Pain Research, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - V Lavergne
- Centre for Pain Research, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - B Hamilton
- Pathology, Mater Health Services, Raymond Terrace, South Brisbane, Qld, 4101, Australia.,Mater Research Institute, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - F C Cardoso
- Centre for Pain Research, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - J Griffin
- ACRF Microscopy Facility, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - D J Venter
- Pathology, Mater Health Services, Raymond Terrace, South Brisbane, Qld, 4101, Australia.,Mater Research Institute, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, 4072, Australia.,School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - P F Alewood
- Centre for Pain Research, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - R J Lewis
- Centre for Pain Research, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
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102
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Robinson SD, Chhabra S, Belgi A, Chittoor B, Safavi-Hemami H, Robinson AJ, Papenfuss AT, Purcell AW, Norton RS. A Naturally Occurring Peptide with an Elementary Single Disulfide-Directed β-Hairpin Fold. Structure 2016; 24:293-9. [PMID: 26774129 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2015.11.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2015] [Revised: 11/11/2015] [Accepted: 11/23/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Certain peptide folds, owing to a combination of intrinsic stability and resilience to amino acid substitutions, are particularly effective for the display of diverse functional groups. Such "privileged scaffolds" are valuable as starting points for the engineering of new bioactive molecules. We have identified a precursor peptide expressed in the venom gland of the marine snail Conus victoriae, which appears to belong to a hitherto undescribed class of molluscan neuropeptides. Mass spectrometry matching with the venom confirmed the complete mature peptide sequence as a 31-residue peptide with a single disulfide bond. Solution structure determination revealed a unique peptide fold that we have designated the single disulfide-directed β hairpin (SDH). The SDH fold is highly resistant to thermal denaturation and forms the core of several other multiple disulfide-containing peptide folds, including the inhibitor cystine knot. This elementary fold may offer a valuable starting point for the design and engineering of new bioactive peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel D Robinson
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Sandeep Chhabra
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Alessia Belgi
- School of Chemistry, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Balasubramanyam Chittoor
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | | | - Andrea J Robinson
- School of Chemistry, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Anthony T Papenfuss
- Bioinformatics Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Anthony W Purcell
- The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Biomedical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Raymond S Norton
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia.
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104
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Olivera BM, Seger J, Horvath MP, Fedosov AE. Prey-Capture Strategies of Fish-Hunting Cone Snails: Behavior, Neurobiology and Evolution. BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2015; 86:58-74. [PMID: 26397110 DOI: 10.1159/000438449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The venomous fish-hunting cone snails (Conus) comprise eight distinct lineages evolved from ancestors that preyed on worms. In this article, we attempt to reconstruct events resulting in this shift in food resource by closely examining patterns of behavior, biochemical agents (toxins) that facilitate prey capture and the combinations of toxins present in extant species. The first sections introduce three different hunting behaviors associated with piscivory: 'taser-and-tether', 'net-engulfment' and 'strike-and-stalk'. The first two fish-hunting behaviors are clearly associated with distinct groups of venom components, called cabals, which act in concert to modify the behavior of prey in a specific manner. Derived fish-hunting behavior clearly also correlates with physical features of the radular tooth, the device that injects these biochemical components. Mapping behavior, biochemical components and radular tooth features onto phylogenetic trees shows that fish-hunting behavior emerged at least twice during evolution. The system presented here may be one of the best examples where diversity in structure, physiology and molecular features were initially driven by particular pathways selected through behavior.
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105
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Vinther TN, Kjeldsen TB, Jensen KJ, Hubálek F. The road to the first, fully active and more stable human insulin variant with an additional disulfide bond. J Pept Sci 2015; 21:797-806. [DOI: 10.1002/psc.2822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2015] [Revised: 08/14/2015] [Accepted: 08/19/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Knud J. Jensen
- Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry; University of Copenhagen; DK-1871 Frederiksberg Denmark
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