A Spider Toxin Exemplifies the Promises and Pitfalls of Cell-Free Protein Production for Venom Biodiscovery.

ABSTRACT: Arthropod venoms offer a promising resource for the discovery of novel bioactive peptides and proteins, but the limited size of most species translates into minuscule venom yields. Bioactivity studies based on traditional fractionation are therefore challenging, so alternative strategies are needed. Cell-free synthesis based on synthetic gene fragments is one of the most promising emerging technologies, theoretically allowing the rapid, laboratory-scale production of specific venom components, but this approach has yet to be applied in venom biodiscovery. Here, we tested the ability of three commercially available cell-free protein expression systems to produce venom components from small arthropods, using U2-sicaritoxin-Sdo1a from the six-eyed sand spider Hexophtalma dolichocephala as a c

SUBMITTER: Luddecke T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8402385 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature