TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2014//
TI  - Evolution of separate predation- and defence-evoked venoms in carnivorous cone snails
JO  - Nature communications
A1  - Dutertre, Sébastien
A1  - Jin, Ai-Hua
A1  - Vetter, Irina
A1  - Hamilton, Brett
A1  - Sunagar, Kartik
A1  - Lavergne, Vincent
A1  - Dutertre, Valentin
A1  - Fry, Bryan G.
A1  - Antunes, Agostinho
A1  - Venter, Deon J.
A1  - Alewood, Paul F.
A1  - Lewis, Richard J.
SP  - 3521
EP  - 3521
VL  - 5
IS  - 
N2  - Venomous animals are thought to inject the same combination of toxins for both predation and defence, presumably exploiting conserved target pharmacology across prey and predators. Remarkably, cone snails can rapidly switch between distinct venoms in response to predatory or defensive stimuli. Here, we show that the defence-evoked venom of Conus geographus contains high levels of paralytic toxins that potently block neuromuscular receptors, consistent with its lethal effects on humans. In contrast, C. geographus predation-evoked venom contains prey-specific toxins mostly inactive at human targets. Predation- and defence-evoked venoms originate from the distal and proximal regions of the venom duct, respectively, explaining how different stimuli can generate two distinct venoms. A specialized defensive envenomation strategy is widely evolved across worm, mollusk and fish-hunting cone snails. We propose that defensive toxins, originally evolved in ancestral worm-hunting cone snails to protect against cephalopod and fish predation, have been repurposed in predatory venoms to facilitate diversification to fish and mollusk diets.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2041-1723
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4521
ID  - ref1
ER  -