Diversity of conopeptides from the venom gland transcriptomes of Rhizoconus species
Three worm-hunting cone snail species from the Rhizoconus clade (Conus capitaneus, Conus miles, and Conus mustelinus) were collected from the Philippines. Their venom, which contains bioactive peptides called conopeptides, is used to immobilize prey. RNA sequencing with the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform was conducted to identify the conopeptides expressed by these species, providing insights into their venom and their potential for drug discovery.