Abstract
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1743 - 1748 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
| Volume | 112 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Cite this
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Specialized insulin is used for chemical warfare by fish-hunting cone snails. / Safavi-Hemami, Helena; Gajewiak, Joanna; Karanth, Santhosh; Robinson, Samuel; Ueberheide, Beatrix; Douglass, Adam D; Schlegel, Amnon; Imperial, Julita S; Watkins, Maren; Bandyopadhyay, Pradip K; Yandell, Mark; Li, Qing; Purcell, Anthony Wayne; Norton, Raymond Stanley; Ellgaard, Lars; Olivera, Baldomero Marquez.
In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 112, No. 6, 2015, p. 1743 - 1748.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Specialized insulin is used for chemical warfare by fish-hunting cone snails
AU - Safavi-Hemami, Helena
AU - Gajewiak, Joanna
AU - Karanth, Santhosh
AU - Robinson, Samuel
AU - Ueberheide, Beatrix
AU - Douglass, Adam D
AU - Schlegel, Amnon
AU - Imperial, Julita S
AU - Watkins, Maren
AU - Bandyopadhyay, Pradip K
AU - Yandell, Mark
AU - Li, Qing
AU - Purcell, Anthony Wayne
AU - Norton, Raymond Stanley
AU - Ellgaard, Lars
AU - Olivera, Baldomero Marquez
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - More than 100 species of venomous cone snails (genus Conus) are highly effective predators of fish. The vast majority of venom components identified and functionally characterized to date are neurotoxins specifically targeted to receptors, ion channels, and transporters in the nervous system of prey, predators, or competitors. Here we describe a venom component targeting energy metabolism, a radically different mechanism. Two fish-hunting cone snails, Conus geographus and Conus tulipa, have evolved specialized insulins that are expressed as major components of their venoms. These insulins are distinctive in having much greater similarity to fish insulins than to the molluscan hormone and are unique in that post-translational modifications characteristic of conotoxins (hydroxyproline, ?-carboxyglutamate) are present. When injected into fish, the venom insulin elicits hypoglycemic shock, a condition characterized by dangerously low blood glucose. Our evidence suggests that insulin is specifically used as a weapon for prey capture by a subset of fish-hunting cone snails that use a net strategy to capture prey. Insulin appears to be a component of the nirvana cabal, a toxin combination in these venoms that is released into the water to disorient schools of small fish, making them easier to engulf with the snails distended false mouth, which functions as a net. If an entire school of fish simultaneously experiences hypoglycemic shock, this should directly facilitate capture by the predatory snail.
AB - More than 100 species of venomous cone snails (genus Conus) are highly effective predators of fish. The vast majority of venom components identified and functionally characterized to date are neurotoxins specifically targeted to receptors, ion channels, and transporters in the nervous system of prey, predators, or competitors. Here we describe a venom component targeting energy metabolism, a radically different mechanism. Two fish-hunting cone snails, Conus geographus and Conus tulipa, have evolved specialized insulins that are expressed as major components of their venoms. These insulins are distinctive in having much greater similarity to fish insulins than to the molluscan hormone and are unique in that post-translational modifications characteristic of conotoxins (hydroxyproline, ?-carboxyglutamate) are present. When injected into fish, the venom insulin elicits hypoglycemic shock, a condition characterized by dangerously low blood glucose. Our evidence suggests that insulin is specifically used as a weapon for prey capture by a subset of fish-hunting cone snails that use a net strategy to capture prey. Insulin appears to be a component of the nirvana cabal, a toxin combination in these venoms that is released into the water to disorient schools of small fish, making them easier to engulf with the snails distended false mouth, which functions as a net. If an entire school of fish simultaneously experiences hypoglycemic shock, this should directly facilitate capture by the predatory snail.
UR - http://www.pnas.org/content/112/6/1743.full.pdf
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1423857112
DO - 10.1073/pnas.1423857112
M3 - Article
VL - 112
SP - 1743
EP - 1748
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
SN - 0027-8424
IS - 6
ER -