Bioactivities from Novel Toxins of Pterois volitans: A Bioinformatics Approach

Abstract

Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758), native of the Indo-Pacific Ocean, is an invasive fish species in the Western-Atlantic. Due to the very long venomous spines, they increase their populations in newly invaded habitats. No validated eradication method has been existed for this species yet. Therefore, there is an urgent need for alternative utilization methods for this fish species. Bioactive peptides are of great importance for human health since they exhibit excellent inhibitory properties for some medicinally important enzymes in human metabolisms such as angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV). In this study, the bioactive peptides in protein-based venom of P. volitans, Pvtoxin-a and Pvtoxin-b, were investigated by using in silico tools. Total number of negatively charged residues (Asp + Glu) for Pvtoxin-a and Pvtoxin-b were found as 21 and 18, respectively. Total number of positively charged residues (Arg + Lys) for Pvtoxin-a and Pvtoxin-b were observed to be 22 and 24, respectively. According to BIOPEP results, AE values for ACE and DPP-IV were found to be 0.0305 and 0.0666 for Pvtoxin-a and Pvtoxin-b as 0.0333 and 0.0569, respectively. It is very interesting to note that AE values related to antioxidant property were observed to be 0.0083 for both Pvtoxin-a and Pvtoxin-b. Although AE value for alpha-glucosidase inhibitor was found to be 0.0014 for Pvtoxin-a, no AE value was obtained for Pvtoxin-b. In conclusion, the BIOPEP results clearly show that after a possible eradication study, protein-based venoms from P. volitans can be evaluated in the production of bioactive peptides. A possible economical value may create a pressure on its increasing population in newly invaded areas.