Structure and function of predatory and defensive venoms in cone snails

锥螺捕食性和防御性毒液的结构和功能

• 批准号: DP160103826
• 负责人: Prof Richard Lewis
• 金额: $ 32.91万
• 依托单位: The University of Queensland
• 依托单位国家: 澳大利亚
• 项目类别: Discovery Projects
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 澳大利亚
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://dataportal.arc.gov.au/RGS/Web/Grants/DP160103826
• 关键词: Structure; function; predatory; defensive; venoms

This project aims to investigate newly-discovered cone snail venoms to accelerate the search for novel bioactive peptides. It was recently discovered that cone snails can rapidly and reversibly switch between distinct venoms in response to predatory or defensive stimuli, implying that defensive and predatory venoms have evolved under separate selection pressures. The project plans to obtain separate predatory and defensive venoms and venom duct tissue from individual cone snails to compare and contrast the structure and function of conotoxins evolved for predation versus those evolved for defence, to elucidate the structure and function of these important classes of bioactive peptides.

本项目旨在研究新发现的锥蜗牛毒液，以加速寻找新的生物活性肽。最近发现，锥体蜗牛可以快速和可逆地在不同的毒液之间切换，以应对掠夺性或防御性的刺激，这意味着防御性和掠夺性毒液是在不同的选择压力下进化的。该项目计划从单个锥体蜗牛中获得单独的掠食性和防御性毒液和毒液管组织，以比较和对比为捕食而进化的conotoxin和为防御而进化的conotoxin的结构和功能，以阐明这类重要生物活性肽的结构和功能。