Abstract
This review examines the current state of knowledge regarding toxins from anthozoans (sea anemones, coral, zoanthids, corallimorphs, sea pens and tube anemones). We provide an overview of venom from phylum Cnidaria and review the diversity of venom composition between the two major clades (Medusozoa and Anthozoa). We highlight that the functional and ecological context of venom has implications for the temporal and spatial expression of protein and peptide toxins within class Anthozoa. Understanding the nuances in the regulation of venom arsenals has been made possible by recent advances in analytical technologies that allow characterisation of the spatial distributions of toxins. Furthermore, anthozoans are unique in that ecological roles can be assigned using tissue expression data, thereby circumventing some of the challenges related to pharmacological screening.
Highlights
Introduction to Animal VenomsWithin the animal kingdom, biotic interactions such as predation and competition are key driving forces for the evolution of species [1,2]
While venom appears to be ubiquitously employed during feeding in anthozoans and medusozoans, further characterisation is required to understand the spectrum of venom usage across the diverse life histories of Cnidaria
It can be appreciated that within phylum Cnidaria, different patterns of venom composition emerge in response to changes in ecological factors associated with life history transitions, such as diet, and that these patterns are probably driven by changes in gene regulation and expression, as observed in snakes [74]
Summary
Biotic interactions such as predation and competition are key driving forces for the evolution of species [1,2]. Cells capable of autonomous venom release are distributed throughout the entire body of some venomous organisms, as observed in phylum Cnidaria [17] Regardless of their composition or associated structures, animals may employ venom as a chemical weapon in instances of prey capture, defence against predators, intraspecific competition, and a number of other diverse functions [3]. The same venom is often used for both types of encounters, with toxins that target neuronal communication capable of eliciting both pain and paralysis [21,22,23] This is not the case in the assassin bug and cone snails, which exhibit regionalisation in venom production, within either the same venom duct or distinct anatomical structures [22,24]. Given the distribution of venom apparatus across multiple functional anatomical tissues, this phylum provides a unique opportunity to ascertain the ecological roles of venom
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