Investigation of Peptide Toxin Diversity in Ribbon Worms (Nemertea) Using a Transcriptomic Approach

Nemertea is a phylum of nonsegmented worms (supraphylum: Spiralia), also known as ribbon worms. The members of this phylum contain various toxins, including peptide toxins. Here, we provide a transcriptomic analysis of peptide toxins in 14 nemertean species, including Cephalothrix cf. simula, which...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Toxins 2022-08, Vol.14 (8), p.542
Main Authors: Vlasenko, Anna E, Kuznetsov, Vasiliy G, Magarlamov, Timur Yu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Animals
Annotations
Enzymes
Genetic transcription
Genomes
Identification and classification
Ion channels
Nemertea
nemertean toxins
Nemerteans
Neurotoxins
peptide toxins
Peptides
Physiological aspects
Pore formation
Proteins
ribbon worms
Toxins
Transcriptomics
Venom
Worms
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Summary:Nemertea is a phylum of nonsegmented worms (supraphylum: Spiralia), also known as ribbon worms. The members of this phylum contain various toxins, including peptide toxins. Here, we provide a transcriptomic analysis of peptide toxins in 14 nemertean species, including Cephalothrix cf. simula, which was sequenced in the current study. The summarized data show that the number of toxin transcripts in the studied nemerteans varied from 12 to 82. The most represented groups of toxins were enzymes and ion channel inhibitors, which, in total, reached a proportion of 72% in some species, and the least represented were pore-forming toxins and neurotoxins, the total proportion of which did not exceed 18%. The study revealed that nemerteans possess a much greater variety of toxins than previously thought and showed that these animals are a promising object for the investigation of venom diversity and evolution, and in the search for new peptide toxins.
ISSN:2072-6651
2072-6651
DOI:10.3390/toxins14080542