Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Delta-conotoxin structure/function through a cladistic analysis.

G Bulaj1, R DeLaCruz, A Azimi-Zonooz

  • 1Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA. bulaj@biology.utah.edu

Biochemistry
|October 31, 2001
PubMed
Summary

Fish-hunting cone snails utilize delta-conotoxins to immobilize prey by targeting voltage-gated sodium channels and slowing their inactivation. This study confirms their role and identifies critical amino acids for conotoxin activity.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Comparison of outcomes in dogs undergoing hiatal hernia repair with and without use of a gastropexy: 41 cases (2012-2022).

The Journal of small animal practice·2024
Same author

ICMSF Methods Studies. XVI. Comparison of Salt Polymyxin Broth with Glucose Salt Teepol Broth for Enumerating Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Naturally Contaminated Samples.

Journal of food protection·2019
Same author

A heterodyne dispersion interferometer for wide bandwidth density measurements on DIII-D.

The Review of scientific instruments·2018
Same author

Tests of a full-scale ITER toroidal interferometer and polarimeter (TIP) prototype on the DIII-D tokamak (invited).

The Review of scientific instruments·2018
Same author

Conus Peptides: Phylogenetic Range of Biological Activity.

The Biological bulletin·2018
Same author

A direct comparison of experimental methods to measure dimensions of synthetic nanoparticles.

Ultramicroscopy·2017

Area of Science:

  • Marine biology
  • Neuroscience
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Delta-conotoxins are peptides from Conus venoms that inhibit voltage-gated sodium channel inactivation.
  • Their role in fish-hunting cone snails, which rapidly immobilize prey, has been hypothesized but not experimentally verified.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the presence and function of delta-conotoxins in fish-hunting cone snails.
  • To determine the structural requirements for delta-conotoxin activity using a cladistic approach.

Main Methods:

  • cDNA cloning of Conus venom glands from fish-hunting species.
  • Isolation and sequencing of delta-conotoxins from Conus striatus venom.
  • Electrophysiological characterization of synthesized delta-conotoxin analogues to assess effects on sodium channel inactivation.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • All analyzed fish-hunting Conus species yielded delta-conotoxin sequences via cDNA cloning.
  • A delta-conotoxin from Conus striatus confirmed the predicted sequence and demonstrated activity by targeting sodium channels and slowing inactivation.
  • Homologous delta-conotoxins from related fish-hunting species share conserved features distinct from mollusc-hunting Conus venoms.
  • Specific amino acid substitutions in delta-conotoxin PVIA revealed that conserved hydrophobic residues are critical for activity, while substitutions at non-conserved sites retain biological function.

Conclusions:

  • Delta-conotoxins are integral components of fish-hunting cone snail venoms, essential for prey immobilization.
  • A cladistic analysis effectively identifies critical amino acids for conotoxin function and guides the design of analogues with specific activity profiles.