title: Evolution of separate predation- and defence-evoked venoms in carnivorous cone snails.
abstract: Venomous animals are thought to inject the same combination of toxins for both predation and defence, presumably exploiting conserved target pharmacology across prey and predators. Remarkably, cone snails can rapidly switch between distinct venoms in response to predatory or defensive stimuli. Here, we show that the defence-evoked venom of Conus geographus contains high levels of paralytic toxins that potently block neuromuscular receptors, consistent with its lethal effects on humans. In contrast, C. geographus predation-evoked venom contains prey-specific toxins mostly inactive at human targets. Predation- and defence-evoked venoms originate from the distal and proximal regions of the venom duct, respectively, explaining how different stimuli can generate two distinct venoms. A specialized defensive envenomation strategy is widely evolved across worm, mollusk and fish-hunting cone snails. We propose that defensive toxins, originally evolved in ancestral worm-hunting cone snails to protect against cephalopod and fish predation, have been repurposed in predatory venoms to facilitate diversification to fish and mollusk diets.
authors.affiliation: 1] Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072 Queensland, Australia [2] Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron, UMR 5247, Université Montpellier 2-CNRS, Place Eugène Bataillon, Montpellier Cedex 5 34095, France.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dutertre
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072 Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Ai-Hua
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: 1] Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072 Queensland, Australia [2] School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4102 Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vetter
authors.affiliation: Pathology Department, and Mater Research Institute, Mater Health Services, South Brisbane, 4101 Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Brett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.affiliation: 1] CIMAR/CIIMAR, Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Porto, Rua dos Bragas, 177, Porto 4050-123, Portugal [2] Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, Porto 4169-007, Portugal.
authors.forename: Kartik
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sunagar
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072 Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lavergne
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072 Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Valentin
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dutertre
authors.affiliation: 1] Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072 Queensland, Australia [2] Venom Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072 Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Bryan G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Fry
authors.affiliation: 1] CIMAR/CIIMAR, Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Porto, Rua dos Bragas, 177, Porto 4050-123, Portugal [2] Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, Porto 4169-007, Portugal.
authors.forename: Agostinho
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Antunes
authors.affiliation: 1] Pathology Department, and Mater Research Institute, Mater Health Services, South Brisbane, 4101 Queensland, Australia [2] Department of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072 Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Deon J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Venter
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072 Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Paul F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Alewood
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072 Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Lewis
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D052078:Conus Snail / Q000737:chemistry*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006652:Histological Techniques; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008954:Models, Biological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008978:Mollusk Venoms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D011235:Predatory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D008978:Mollusk Venoms