Conotoxin Diversity in Chelyconus ermineus (Born, 1778) and the Convergent Origin of Piscivory in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Cones.

ABSTRACT: The transcriptome of the venom duct of the Atlantic piscivorous cone species Chelyconus ermineus (Born, 1778) was determined. The venom repertoire of this species includes at least 378 conotoxin precursors, which could be ascribed to 33 known and 22 new (unassigned) protein superfamilies, respectively. Most abundant superfamilies were T, W, O1, M, O2, and Z, accounting for 57% of all detected diversity. A total of three individuals were sequenced showing considerable intraspecific variation: each individual had many exclusive conotoxin precursors, and only 20% of all inferred mature peptides were common to all individuals. Three different regions (distal, medium, and proximal with respect to the venom bulb) of the venom duct were analyzed independently. Diversity (in terms of number of dis

SUBMITTER: Abalde S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6178336 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature