Comparative analysis of diverse toxins from a new pharmaceutical centipede, Scolopendra mojiangica.

Liu Zi-Chao,Liang Jin-Yang,Lan Xin-Qiang,Lee Wen-Hui,Zhao Fang,Li Geng,Zhang Jia-Rui,Li Tao,Zhao Feng,Chen Pei-Yi,Zhang Yun

doi:10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2020.019

Abstract

As the oldest venomous animals, centipedes use their venom as a weapon to attack prey and for protection. Centipede venom, which contains many bioactive and pharmacologically active compounds, has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine, as shown by ancient records. Based on comparative analysis, we revealed the diversity of and differences in centipede toxin-like molecules between Scolopendra mojiangica, a substitute pharmaceutical material used in China, and S. subspinipes mutilans. More than 6 000 peptides isolated from the venom were identified by electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) and inferred from the transcriptome. As a result, in the proteome of S. mojiangica, 246 unique proteins were identified: one in five were toxin-like proteins or putative toxins with unknown function, accounting for a lower percentage of total proteins than that in S. mutilans. Transcriptome mining identified approximately 10 times more toxin-like proteins, which can characterize the precursor structures of mature toxin-like peptides. However, the constitution and quantity of the toxin transcripts in these two centipedes were similar. In toxicity assays, the crude venom showed strong insecticidal and hemolytic activity. These findings highlight the extensive diversity of toxin-like proteins in S. mojiangica and provide a new foundation for the medical-pharmaceutical use of centipede toxin-like proteins.

Highlights

As one of the oldest and most important predatory arthropods, the centipede has a fossil record that extends back 420 million years (Undheim & King, 2011)
In addition to the current annotation methods of centipede toxins, our results revealed that a wide variety of toxin-like active molecules were expressed in the venom gland by combining Blast alignment with the existing toxin databases and phylogenetic reconstruction of toxin relationships
We used omics techniques to determine the profiles of venom components and toxin-like molecules in a new pharmaceutical centipede, S. mojiangica

Summary

Introduction

As one of the oldest and most important predatory arthropods, the centipede has a fossil record that extends back 420 million years (Undheim & King, 2011). An increasing number of studies have shown that centipede venom contains various functional components, including a rich reservoir of structural and pharmacological peptides (Hakim et al, 2015; Undheim et al, 2015, 2016). Several antimicrobial peptides and specific toxins have been identified in centipede venom (Chen et al, 2014; Hou et al, 2013; Peng et al, 2010; Yang et al, 2012). Centipede toxins are expressed outside the venom gland and are involved in gene recruitment processes (Zhao et al, 2018a). These venom peptides have significant chemical, thermal, and biological stability, which enable researchers to adapt their functions for therapeutic use

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion