Sea anemone venom as a source of insecticidal peptides acting on voltage-gated Na+ channels.
Sea anemones produce a myriad of toxic peptides and proteins of which a large group acts on voltage-gated Na+ channels. However, in comparison to other organisms, their venoms and toxins are poorly studied. Most of the known voltage-gated Na+ channel toxins isolated from sea anemone venoms act on neurotoxin receptor site 3 and inhibit the inactivation of these channels. Furthermore, it seems that most of these toxins have a distinct preference for crustaceans. Given the close evolutionary relationship between crustaceans and insects, it is not surprising that sea anemone toxins also profoundly affect insect voltage-gated Na+ channels, which constitutes the scope of this review. For this reason, these peptides can be considered as insecticidal lead compounds in the development of insecticides.
Bosmans
Frank
F
Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Section, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, Building 35, 3B 211, NINDS, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Tytgat
Jan
J
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003064:Cnidarian Venoms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007306:Insecticides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015640:Ion Channel Gating; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D012615:Sea Anemones / Q000502:physiology*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D026941:Sodium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000187:drug effects*; D013045:Species Specificity
D003064:Cnidarian Venoms; D007306:Insecticides; D010455:Peptides; D026941:Sodium Channel Blockers; D015222:Sodium Channels