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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Identification of Hemolytic and Phospholipase Activity in Crude Extracts from Sea Anemones by Straightforward Bioassays
Published on: March 29, 2022
Sea anemone venom as a source of insecticidal peptides acting on voltage-gated Na+ channels
1Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Section, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, Building 35, 3B 211, NINDS, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Abstract:
Sea anemones produce a myriad of toxic peptides and proteins of which a large group acts on voltage-gated Na+ channels. However, in comparison to other organisms, their venoms and toxins are poorly studied. Most of the known voltage-gated Na+ channel toxins isolated from sea anemone venoms act on neurotoxin receptor site 3 and inhibit the inactivation of these channels. Furthermore, it seems that most of these toxins have a distinct preference for crustaceans. Given the close evolutionary relationship between crustaceans and insects, it is not surprising that sea anemone toxins also profoundly affect insect voltage-gated Na+ channels, which constitutes the scope of this review. For this reason, these peptides can be considered as insecticidal lead compounds in the development of insecticides.
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