title: Tentacle Transcriptome and Venom Proteome of the Pacific Sea Nettle, Chrysaora fuscescens (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa).
abstract: Jellyfish venoms are rich sources of toxins designed to capture prey or deter predators, but they can also elicit harmful effects in humans. In this study, an integrated transcriptomic and proteomic approach was used to identify putative toxins and their potential role in the venom of the scyphozoan jellyfish Chrysaora fuscescens. A de novo tentacle transcriptome, containing more than 23,000 contigs, was constructed and used in proteomic analysis of C. fuscescens venom to identify potential toxins. From a total of 163 proteins identified in the venom proteome, 27 were classified as putative toxins and grouped into six protein families: proteinases, venom allergens, C-type lectins, pore-forming toxins, glycoside hydrolases and enzyme inhibitors. Other putative toxins identified in the transcriptome, but not the proteome, included additional proteinases as well as lipases and deoxyribonucleases. Sequence analysis also revealed the presence of ShKT domains in two putative venom proteins from the proteome and an additional 15 from the transcriptome, suggesting potential ion channel blockade or modulatory activities. Comparison of these potential toxins to those from other cnidarians provided insight into their possible roles in C. fuscescens venom and an overview of the diversity of potential toxin families in cnidarian venoms.
authors.affiliation: Australian Venom Research Unit, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia. d.poncegarcia@student.unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Dalia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ponce
authors.affiliation: Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia. d.brinkman@aims.gov.au.
authors.forename: Diane L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Brinkman
authors.affiliation: Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Infectious Diseases Program, Brisbane, Queensland 4006, Australia. jeremy.potriquet@qimrberghofer.edu.au.
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Potriquet
authors.affiliation: Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Infectious Diseases Program, Brisbane, Queensland 4006, Australia. Jason.Mulvenna@qimrberghofer.edu.au.|School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia. Jason.Mulvenna@qimrberghofer.edu.au.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mulvenna
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003064:Cnidarian Venoms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020543:Proteome; D037401:Scyphozoa / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D003064:Cnidarian Venoms; D020543:Proteome
keywords: Chrysaora; Jellyfish; nematocyst; proteome; toxin; transcriptome; venom