Cone snail milked venom dynamics--a quantitative study of Conus purpurascens.

ABSTRACT: Milked venom from cone snails represent a novel biological resource with a proven track record for drug discovery. To strengthen this correlation, we undertook a chromatographic and mass spectrometric study of individual milked venoms from Conus purpurascens. Milked venoms demonstrate extensive peptide differentiation amongst individual specimens and during captivity. Individual snails were found to lack a consistent set of described conopeptides, but instead demonstrated the ability to change venom expression, composition and post-translational modification incorporation; all variations contribute to an increase in chemical diversity and prey targeting strategies. Quantitative amino acid analysis revealed that milked venom peptides are expressed at ranges up to 3.51-121.01 μM within singl

SUBMITTER: Chun JB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3565753 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature