Conus victoriae

Conus victoriae
Conus victoriae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Conoidea
Family: Conidae
Subfamily: Coninae
Genus: Conus
Species: C. victoriae
Binomial name
Conus victoriae
Reeve, 1843
Synonyms[1]

Conus complanatus G. B. Sowerby II, 1866

Conus victoriae is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.[1]

Like all species within the genus Conus, these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.

Contents

Description

Conus victoriae is a mollusc-eating cone (mollusiovore) possibly related to Conus textile . A component of its venom, alpha conotoxin Vc1.1 (ACV1) has been shown to be a potent analgesic in pain tests in animals[2] and is a potential replacement for morphine for the treatment of neuropathic pain[3][4].

The biology of this cone species has been extensively studied, in particular the embryonic development of its venom apparatus [5], the expression of the venom gland proteome[6][7] and the role of the venom bulb in delivery of venom components to the radulae[8].

Distribution

Western Australia from Broome north to the mouth of the Victoria River, Northern Territory where it was first discovered by Reeve in 1843

References

  1. ^ a b Conus victoriae Reeve, 1843.  Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=428402 on 27 March 2010.
  2. ^ Sandall DW, Satkunanathan N, Keays DA, Polidano MA, Liping X, Pham V, Down JG, Khalil Z, Livett BG, Gayler KR. A novel alpha-conotoxin identified by gene sequencing is active in suppressing the vascular response to selective stimulation of sensory nerves in vivo. Biochemistry. 2003 Jun 10;42(22):6904-11.
  3. ^ Livett BG, Sandall DW, Keays D, Down J, Gayler KR, Satkunanathan N, Khalil Z. Therapeutic applications of conotoxins that target the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Toxicon. 2006 Dec 1;48(7):810-29. Epub 2006 Jul 15. Review.
  4. ^ Clark RJ, Jensen J, Nevin ST, Callaghan BP, Adams DJ, Craik DJ. The engineering of an orally active conotoxin for the treatment of neuropathic pain. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2010 Sep 3;49(37):6545-8.
  5. ^ Safavi-Hemami H, Siero WA, Kuang Z, Williamson NA, Karas JA, Page LR, MacMillan D, Callaghan B, Kompella SN, Adams DJ, Norton RS, Purcell AW. Embryonic toxin expression in the cone snail Conus victoriae: primed to kill or divergent function? J Biol Chem. 2011 Jun 24;286(25):22546-57.
  6. ^ Townsend, A., Livett, BG, Bingham, J-P, Truong, H-T, Karas, JA, O’Donnell, P, Williamson, NA, Purcell, AW and Scanlon D (2009) Mass spectral identification of Vc1.1 and differential distribution of conopeptides in the venom duct of Conus victoriae. Effect of post-translational modifications and disulfide isomerisation on bioactivity. Int. J. Peptide Res and Therap. 15 (3): 195-203
  7. ^ Safavi-Hemami H, Siero WA, Gorasia DG, Young ND, Macmillan D, Williamson NA, Purcell AW. Specialisation of the venom gland proteome in predatory cone snails reveals functional diversification of the conotoxin biosynthetic pathway. J Proteome Res. 2011 Sep 2;10(9):3904-19
  8. ^ Safavi-Hemami H, Young ND, Williamson NA, Purcell AW. Proteomic interrogation of venom delivery in marine cone snails: novel insights into the role of the venom bulb. J Proteome Res. 2010 Nov 5;9(11):5610-9


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