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| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Artículo científico |
| Language: | en |
| Published: |
Toxins
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41591163/ |
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Table of Contents:
- Proteinaceous Toxins in the Mucus and Proboscis of the Ribbon Worm cf. (Palaeonemertea: Nemertea). Kuznetsov, Vasiliy G Melnikova, Daria I Shabelnikov, Sergey V Magarlamov, Timur Yu Animals Mucus Invertebrates Tandem Mass Spectrometry Proteome Toxins, Biological Proteomics Amino Acid Sequence cf. is a highly toxic ribbon worm of the class Palaeonemertea, known for its high concentrations of tetrodotoxin. Recent transcriptomic and proteomic studies across Nemertea have revealed that species from all classes possess a diverse array of protein and peptide toxins, which are associated with unicellular glands of the proboscis and the integument epithelium. Previous studies have identified a large number of putative toxins in the transcriptome of . cf. ; however, corresponding proteomic data have so far been lacking. This study presents the first comprehensive analysis of the mucus and proboscis proteome of . cf. using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We identified three putative toxins in the proboscis and three in the mucus. Additionally, four cysteine-rich peptides with putative toxic activity were identified in the mucus and one in the proboscis. The expression of the corresponding genes in both tissues was quantified using quantitative real-time PCR. The toxin compositions of the proboscis and mucus showed clear signs of functional specialization, with no overlapping toxins and tissue-specific patterns of gene expression. Feeding experiments combined with transmission electron microscopy confirmed the involvement of specialized proboscis structures, pseudocnidae, in delivering toxins into the prey.