Dracula's children: Molecular evolution of vampire bat venom

Low, Dolyce H. W.; Sunagar, Kartik; Undheim, Eivind A.B.; Ali, Syed Abid; Alagón, Alejandro; Ruder, Tim; Jackson, Timothy N. W.; Pineda, Sandy S.; King, Glenn F.; Jones, Alun; Antunes, Agostinho; Fry, Bryan G.

doi:10.1016/j.jprot.2013.05.034

Cited by 63 publications

(90 citation statements)

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“…In addition to cnidae, venom of Cnidarians was shown to be also synthesized in other cell types such as ectodermal and endodermal gland cells and other, still unknown, cell types [42,43]. [90,91]. Another example of convergent expression of toxins is potassium channel blocker Kv1 which not only evolved convergently in scorpions and sea anemones, but they even use the same residues for blocking the channel pores [92].…”

Section: Cnidarian Venom Delivery Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, the accumulation of variations on the molecular surface of the toxin seems to be advantageous as the altered surface biochemistry might lead to neofunctionalization (generation of novel pharmacological properties) and assist in immunological evasion [91]. Computation of ASA ratios revealed that all four episodically diversifying sites in the mature peptide of NaTxs, one positively selected and another episodically adaptive site in KTx type I, were surface exposed (Supplementary Table S2, Supplementary Material online).…”

Section: Most Adaptive Sites In Cnidarian Neurotoxins Are Surface Accmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, a majority of positively selected or episodically adaptive sites in neurotoxins are surface exposed. RAVER has been reported in a myriad of animal lineages and in a plethora of venom proteins, including scorpion neurotoxins [91,181,182,184,[188][189][190][191].…”

Section: Most Adaptive Sites In Cnidarian Neurotoxins Are Surface Accmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kunitz are serine protease inhibitors that have been convergently recruited into the venom and oral secretions of a wide range of animals, exhibiting anticoagulation activity in vampire bat secretions [91], brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis textilis) venom [272] and cattle tick [273]; antifibrinolytic activity in bumblebee (B. terrestris) venom [274], and calcium / potassium channel blocking activity in the venoms of eastern green mamba [275] and scorpion [276]. Notably, they have also been identified previously in cnidarian taxa.…”

Section: Serine Protease Inhibitorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most venomics studies to date have been using whole venom (shotgun) proteomics, 2-D fractionation (ion-exchange followed by HPLC) and SDS-PAGE electrophoresis in order to discover the maximal number of proteins in a sample [14,91,99,241].…”

Section: Transcriptomic and Proteomic Analyses 41 Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolution and diversification of the cnidarian venom system

Jouiaei¹

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The phylum Cnidaria (corals, sea pens, sea anemones, jellyfish and hydroids) is the oldest venomous animal lineage (~750 million years old), making it an ideal phylum to understand the origin and diversification of venom. Cnidarians are characterised by specialised cellular structures called cnidae, which they utilise to inject mixtures of bioactive compounds or venom for predation and defence. In recent years cnidarian venoms have begun to be investigated as a potential source of novel bioactive therapeutics. However, in comparison with several venomous lineages that are relatively younger, such as snakes, cone snails and spiders, the diversification and molecular evolutionary regimes of toxins encoded by these fascinating and ancient animals remain poorly understood.The first experimental part of this thesis (Chapter 2) is comprised of the phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary histories of pharmacologically characterised cnidarian toxin families. These include peptide neurotoxins (voltage-gated Na + and K + channel-targeting toxins: NaTxs and KTxs, respectively), pore-forming toxins (actinoporins, aerolysin-related toxins, and jellyfish toxins) and small cysteine-rich peptides (SCRiPs). Our analyses show that most cnidarian toxins remain conserved under the strong influence of negative selection. A deeper analysis of the molecular evolutionary histories of neurotoxins demonstrates that type III KTxs have evolved from NaTxs under the regime of positive selection and likely represent a unique evolutionary innovation of the Actinioidea lineage. We also identify a few functionally important sites in other classes of neurotoxins and pore-forming toxins that experienced episodic adaptation. In addition, we describe the first family of neurotoxic peptides (SCRiPs) in reef-building corals, Acropora millepora, that are likely involved in the envenoming function.The third chapter describes the development of a novel venom extraction technique which is rapid, repeatable and cost effective. This technique involves using ethanol to both induce cnidae discharge and to recover venom contents in one step. Our model species is the notorious Australian box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri) which has a notable impact on public health. By using the complementary approaches of transcriptomics, proteomics, mass spectrometry, histology, and scanning electron microscopy, this study compares the proteome profile of the new ethanol recovery based method to a previously reported protocol, based upon density purified intact cnidae and pressure induced disruption. This work not only results in the expansion of identified Australian box jellyfish venom components but also illustrates that ethanol extraction method could greatly augment future cnidarian venom proteomics research efforts.The forth chapter is constituted by previously described venom extraction technique, ethanolinduced discharge of cnidae, to rapidly and efficiently characterise venom components of the Jelly Blubber or Blue Blubber Jellyfish, Catostylus mosaicus. By us...

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Section: Cnidarian Venom Delivery Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Most Adaptive Sites In Cnidarian Neurotoxins Are Surface Accmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Most Adaptive Sites In Cnidarian Neurotoxins Are Surface Accmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Serine Protease Inhibitorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Transcriptomic and Proteomic Analyses 41 Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolution and diversification of the cnidarian venom system

Jouiaei¹

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Animal Venoms: Origin, Diversity and Evolution

Suranse

Srikanthan

Sunagar

2018

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

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Venomous animals and their venoms have intrigued mankind for millennia. Venoms are complex cocktails of chemically diverse components that disrupt the physiological functioning of the victim to aid the venom‐producing animal in defence and/or feeding. Despite evolving independently on at least 30 occasions in the animal kingdom, venom exhibits remarkable evolutionary convergence, both in composition and biochemical activity. Various factors, including geography, diet, predator pressure, evolutionary arms race and phylogenetic history, underpin the diversification of venoms. Certain venomous animals, particularly snakes, are medically important and are responsible for tens of thousands of permanent loss‐of‐function injuries and deaths in humans every year. At the same time, as venom harbours many bioactive and highly specific components, it has tremendous potential applications in the development of novel lifesaving therapeutics and environment‐friendly agrochemicals. Several wonder drugs based on venom proteins have saved millions of lives worldwide, and many others are in development. Key Concepts Venom has evolved independently ∼30 times in the animal kingdom to assist the venom‐producing animal in self‐defence and/or prey capture. A remarkable convergence can be observed in the composition and bioactivity of venoms. While most animals modified their salivary glands into venom glands, the duck‐billed platypus and echidna evolved venom glands through the evolutionary tinkering of sweat glands. Cnidarians evolved peculiar cell types to inject venom into their victims, while many hymenopterans have modified their ovipositors for venom injection. The strong influence of positive Darwinian selection has driven the evolutionary diversification of venoms, while the structural integrity is conserved by purifying selection.

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Omics and Remote Homology Integration to Decipher Protein Functionality

Silva

Antunes

2023

Methods in Molecular Biology

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Dracula's children: Molecular evolution of vampire bat venom

Cited by 63 publications

References 64 publications

Evolution and diversification of the cnidarian venom system

Evolution and diversification of the cnidarian venom system

Animal Venoms: Origin, Diversity and Evolution

Omics and Remote Homology Integration to Decipher Protein Functionality

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