cDNA library constructed from the venom duct of marine gastropod Hastula lanceata (Linne, 1767) reveals novel sequences

• Main Authors: Diaz, Maria Aiko Angela A., Heralde, Francisco M., III, Olivera, Baldomero M., Santos, Ameurfina D.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2007
• Subjects: Terebridae—Venom; Marine toxins; Biology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/7096
• Institution: De La Salle University

The Toxoglossate sanils (suborder Toxoglossa, superfamily Conoidea) (Taylor et al. 1993) are gastropod mollusks that use venom to capture their prey. They are divided into three major groups: the cone snails (Conidae), the turrids (Turridae) and the auger snails (Terebridae). The most widely studied are the cone snails whose venoms have toxins (peptides) shown to be important for neuropharmacology (Olivera et al. 1990, Olivera 1997, Olivera & Cruz 2001), while the other two groups have been almost completely neglected. The Terebridae or auger snails are a large family of worm hunters, with about 300 species, found in tropical water. With respect to the known toxinology of the members of this group, it can be divided into three classes: 1) snails which use their venom to prey on tube-dwelling polychaete worms; 2) those which does not possess a venom duct; 3) snails living close to where waves break on the tide line and feed on worms carried by the waves. Hastula lanceata, the species studied in this paper, belongs to the third group. The objective of this study is to create a cDNA library from the venom duct of Hastula lanceata, analyze the sequences obtained from the library, and explore the similarity or differences of the obtained sequences with those from other gastropod mollusks.