A new polypeptide toxin from the nematocyst venom of an Okinawan sea anemone Phyllodiscus semoni (Japanese name "unbachi-isoginchaku")

Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2002 Dec;66(12):2621-5. doi: 10.1271/bbb.66.2621.

Abstract

The venomous sea anemone Phyllodiscus semoni causes cases of severe stinging. We isolated Phyllodiscus semoni toxin 20A (PsTX-20A), a hemolytic and lethal polypeptide (20 kDa), from the nematocyst venom of this species for the first time. Furthermore, we sequenced the cDNA encoding PsTX-20A. The deduced amino acid sequence of PsTX-20A showed that this toxin was a new member of the actinoporin family, which consists of several cytolytic polypeptides originating from sea anemones. PsTX-20A showed lethal toxicity to the shrimp Palaemon paucidens when administered via intraperitoneal injection (LD50, 50 microg/kg) and hemolytic activity toward 0.8% sheep red blood cells (ED50, 80 ng/ml).

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Base Sequence
  • Cnidarian Venoms / chemistry*
  • Cnidarian Venoms / genetics
  • Cnidarian Venoms / toxicity*
  • Japan
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Palaemonidae / drug effects
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Peptides / genetics
  • Peptides / isolation & purification*
  • Peptides / toxicity*
  • Sea Anemones / chemistry*
  • Sea Anemones / cytology*
  • Sea Anemones / genetics
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid

Substances

  • Cnidarian Venoms
  • Peptides