Combined Proteotranscriptomic-Based Strategy to Discover Novel Antimicrobial Peptides from Cone Snails

• Published in: Biomedicines 2021-03, Vol.9 (4), p.344
• Main Authors: Ebou, Anicet, Koua, Dominique, Addablah, Audrey, Kakou-Ngazoa, Solange, Dutertre, Sébastien
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Antibacterial activity; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Antimicrobial peptides; Bacteria; Bacterial infections; Biochemistry, Molecular Biology; Biological activity; cone snails; conotoxins; Coronary artery disease; Drug resistance; Epilepsy; Evolution; Gastropoda; Gene expression; Genomics; Heart diseases; Infections; Infectious diseases; Invertebrates; Ischemia; Life Sciences; Markov chains; Microorganisms; Mollusks; Neurodegenerative diseases; Pathogens; Peptides; Prey; proteotranscriptomic approach; Review; Therapeutic applications; Transcriptomes; Venom; Venom gland
• ISSN: 2227-9059; 2227-9059
• DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines9040344

Despite their impressive diversity and already broad therapeutic applications, cone snail venoms have received less attention as a natural source in the investigation of antimicrobial peptides than other venomous animals such as scorpions, spiders, or snakes. Cone snails are among the largest genera ( ) of marine invertebrates, with more than seven hundred species described to date. These predatory mollusks use their sophisticated venom apparatus to capture prey or defend themselves. In-depth studies of these venoms have unraveled many biologically active peptides with pharmacological properties of interest in the field of pain management, the treatment of epilepsy, neurodegenerative diseases, and cardiac ischemia. Considering sequencing efficiency and affordability, cone snail venom gland transcriptome analyses could allow the discovery of new, promising antimicrobial peptides. We first present here the need for novel compounds like antimicrobial peptides as a viable alternative to conventional antibiotics. Secondly, we review the current knowledge on cone snails as a source of antimicrobial peptides. Then, we present the current state of the art in analytical methods applied to crude or milked venom followed by how antibacterial activity assay can be implemented for fostering cone snail antimicrobial peptides studies. We also propose a new innovative profile Hidden Markov model-based approach to annotate full venom gland transcriptomes and speed up the discovery of potentially active peptides from cone snails.