Peptide therapeutics are acclaimed as a promising addition to the pharmaceutical arena,
and they continue to attract interest due to their high potency, bioavailability, and fewer …

Conotoxins are the peptidic components of the venoms of marine cone snails (genus
Conus). They are remarkably diverse in terms of structure and function. Unique potency and …

Background Microbial inhabitants of soils are important to ecosystem and planetary
functions, yet there are large gaps in our knowledge of their diversity and ecology. The …

The diversity of venomous organisms and the toxins they produce have been increasingly
investigated, but taxonomic bias remains important. Neogastropods, a group of marine …

We present a large-scale molecular phylogeny that includes 320 of the 761 recognized valid
species of the cone snails (Conus), one of the most diverse groups of marine molluscs …

Cone snails produce highly complex venom comprising mostly small biologically active
peptides known as conotoxins or conopeptides. Early estimates that suggested 50–200 …

Animal venoms represent a vast library of bioactive peptides and proteins with proven
potential, not only as research tools but also as drug leads and therapeutics. This is …

We identified a previously unidentified conotoxin gene from Conus generalis whose
precursor signal sequence has high similarity to the O1-gene conotoxin superfamily. The …

Background Although diet is believed to be a major factor underlying the evolution of venom,
few comparative studies examine both venom composition and diet across a radiation of …

Cone snails are predatory marine gastropods characterized by a sophisticated venom
apparatus responsible for the biosynthesis and delivery of complex mixtures of cysteine-rich …