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Conopeptide characterization and classifications: an analysis using ConoServer.
- Source :
-
Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology [Toxicon] 2010 Jul; Vol. 55 (8), pp. 1491-509. Date of Electronic Publication: 2010 Mar 06. - Publication Year :
- 2010
-
Abstract
- Cone snails are carnivorous marine gastropods that have evolved potent venoms to capture their prey. These venoms comprise a rich and diverse cocktail of peptide toxins, or conopeptides, whose high diversity has arisen from an efficient hypermutation mechanism, combined with a high frequency of post-translational modifications. Conopeptides bind with high specificity to distinct membrane receptors, ion channels, and transporters of the central and muscular nervous system. As well as serving their natural function in prey capture, conopeptides have been utilized as versatile tools in neuroscience and have proven valuable as drug leads that target the nervous system in humans. This paper examines current knowledge on conopeptide sequences based on an analysis of gene and peptide sequences in ConoServer (http://www.conoserver.org), a specialized database of conopeptide sequences and three-dimensional structures. We describe updates to the content and organization of ConoServer and discuss correlations between gene superfamilies, cysteine frameworks, pharmacological families targeted by conopeptides, and the phylogeny, habitat, and diet of cone snails. The study identifies gaps in current knowledge of conopeptides and points to potential directions for future research.
- Subjects :
- Amino Acid Sequence
Animals
Conotoxins genetics
Conotoxins metabolism
Databases, Protein
Molecular Sequence Data
Mollusk Venoms genetics
Mollusk Venoms metabolism
Poisons classification
Poisons metabolism
Protein Binding
Protein Conformation
Snails classification
Conotoxins chemistry
Conus Snail physiology
Mollusk Venoms chemistry
Poisons chemistry
Sequence Analysis, Protein methods
Snails genetics
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1879-3150
- Volume :
- 55
- Issue :
- 8
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 20211197
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2010.03.002