title: Molecular cloning of a novel putative potassium channel-blocking neurotoxin from the venom of the North African scorpion, Androctonus amoreuxi.
abstract: Scorpion venoms are a particularly rich source of neurotoxic proteins/peptides that interact in a highly specific fashion with discrete subtypes of ion channels in excitable and non-excitable cells. Here we have employed a recently developed technique to effect molecular cloning and structural characterization of a novel putative potassium channel-blocking toxin from the same sample of venom from the North African scorpion, Androctonus amoreuxi. The deduced precursor open-reading frame is composed of 59 amino acid residues that consists of a signal peptide of approximately 22 amino acid residues followed by a mature toxin of 37 amino acid residues. The mature toxin contains two functionally important residues (Lys27 and Tyr36), constituting a functional dyad motif that may be critical for potassium channel-blocking activity that can be affirmed from structural homologs as occurring in the venoms from other species of Androctonus scorpions. Parallel proteomic/transcriptomic studies can thus be performed on the same scorpion venom sample without sacrifice of the donor animal.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Queen's University, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland, UK.
authors.forename: Tianbao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shaw
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D019476:Insect Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009498:Neurotoxins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D026902:Potassium Channel Blockers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012604:Scorpion Venoms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D012605:Scorpions / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein
chemical_list: C503957:AamTX protein, Androctonus amoreuxi; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D019476:Insect Proteins; D009498:Neurotoxins; D010455:Peptides; D026902:Potassium Channel Blockers; D012604:Scorpion Venoms