Unknown

Dataset Information

0

Unique scorpion toxin with a putative ancestral fold provides insight into evolution of the inhibitor cystine knot motif.


ABSTRACT: The three-disulfide inhibitor cystine knot (ICK) motif is a fold common to venom peptides from spiders, scorpions, and aquatic cone snails. Over a decade ago it was proposed that the ICK motif is an elaboration of an ancestral two-disulfide fold coined the disulfide-directed ?-hairpin (DDH). Here we report the isolation, characterization, and structure of a novel toxin [U(1)-liotoxin-Lw1a (U(1)-LITX-Lw1a)] from the venom of the scorpion Liocheles waigiensis that is the first example of a native peptide that adopts the DDH fold. U(1)-LITX-Lw1a not only represents the discovery of a missing link in venom protein evolution, it is the first member of a fourth structural fold to be adopted by scorpion-venom peptides. Additionally, we show that U(1)-LITX-Lw1a has potent insecticidal activity across a broad range of insect pest species, thereby providing a unique structural scaffold for bioinsecticide development.

SUBMITTER: Smith JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3127888 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

altmetric image

Publications

Unique scorpion toxin with a putative ancestral fold provides insight into evolution of the inhibitor cystine knot motif.

Smith Jennifer J JJ   Hill Justine M JM   Little Michelle J MJ   Nicholson Graham M GM   King Glenn F GF   Alewood Paul F PF  

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20110613 26


The three-disulfide inhibitor cystine knot (ICK) motif is a fold common to venom peptides from spiders, scorpions, and aquatic cone snails. Over a decade ago it was proposed that the ICK motif is an elaboration of an ancestral two-disulfide fold coined the disulfide-directed β-hairpin (DDH). Here we report the isolation, characterization, and structure of a novel toxin [U(1)-liotoxin-Lw1a (U(1)-LITX-Lw1a)] from the venom of the scorpion Liocheles waigiensis that is the first example of a native  ...[more]

Similar Datasets

| S-EPMC3694633 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC2749766 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC9286316 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC6024585 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC1360714 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC3422302 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC4626739 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC3792974 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC9539897 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC2397468 | biostudies-literature