Weaponization of a Hormone: Convergent Recruitment of Hyperglycemic Hormone into the Venom of Arthropod Predators

E A B Undheim; L L Grimm; C F Low; D Morgenstern; Volker Herzig; P Zobel-Thropp; S S Pineda; R Habib; S Dziemborowicz; B G Fry; G M Nicholson; G J Binford; M Mobli; G F King

doi:10.1016/j.str.2015.05.003

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Weaponization of a Hormone: Convergent Recruitment of Hyperglycemic Hormone into the Venom of Arthropod Predators

Journal article

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Weaponization of a Hormone: Convergent Recruitment of Hyperglycemic Hormone into the Venom of Arthropod Predators

E A B Undheim, L L Grimm, C F Low, D Morgenstern, Volker Herzig, P Zobel-Thropp, S S Pineda, R Habib, S Dziemborowicz, B G Fry, …

Structure, Vol.23(7), pp.1283-1292

2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.str.2015.05.003

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Abstract

Summary Arthropod venoms consist primarily of peptide toxins that are injected into their prey with devastating consequences. Venom proteins are thought to be recruited from endogenous body proteins and mutated to yield neofunctionalized toxins with remarkable affinity for specific subtypes of ion channels and receptors. However, the evolutionary history of venom peptides remains poorly understood. Here we show that a neuropeptide hormone has been convergently recruited into the venom of spiders and centipedes and evolved into a highly stable toxin through divergent modification of the ancestral gene. High-resolution structures of representative hormone-derived toxins revealed they possess a unique structure and disulfide framework and that the key structural adaptation in weaponization of the ancestral hormone was loss of a C-terminal α helix, an adaptation that occurred independently in spiders and centipedes. Our results raise a new paradigm for toxin evolution and highlight the value of structural information in providing insight into protein evolution.

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Title: Weaponization of a Hormone: Convergent Recruitment of Hyperglycemic Hormone into the Venom of Arthropod Predators
Authors: E A B Undheim (Author) - University of Queensland
L L Grimm (Author) - University of Queensland
C F Low (Author) - University of Queensland
D Morgenstern (Author) - University of Queensland
Volker Herzig (Author) - University of Queensland
P Zobel-Thropp (Author) - Lewis & Clark College, United States
S S Pineda (Author) - University of Queensland
R Habib (Author) - University of Technology Sydney
S Dziemborowicz (Author) - University of Technology Sydney
B G Fry (Author) - University of Queensland
G M Nicholson (Author) - University of Technology Sydney
G J Binford (Author) - Lewis & Clark College, United States
M Mobli (Author) - University of Queensland
G F King (Author) - University of Queensland
Publication details: Structure, Vol.23(7), pp.1283-1292
Publisher: Cell Press
Date published: 2015
DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2015.05.003
ISSN: 0969-2126; 0969-2126
Copyright note: Copyright © 2015. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99451606002621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Biophysics; Cell Biology

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