The <em>Anemonia viridis</em> Venom: Coupling Biochemical Purification and RNA-Seq for Translational Research

• Main Authors: Aldo Nicosia, Alexander Mikov, Matteo Cammarata, Paolo Colombo, Yaroslav Andreev, Sergey Kozlov, Angela Cuttitta
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-10-01
• Series: Marine Drugs
• Subjects: transcriptomics; bio-prospecting; computational biology; neurotoxins
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/16/11/407

Blue biotechnologies implement marine bio-resources for addressing practical concerns. The isolation of biologically active molecules from marine animals is one of the main ways this field develops. Strikingly, cnidaria are considered as sustainable resources for this purpose, as they possess unique cells for attack and protection, producing an articulated cocktail of bioactive substances. The Mediterranean sea anemone <i>Anemonia viridis</i> has been studied extensively for years. In this short review, we summarize advances in bioprospecting of the <i>A. viridis</i> toxin arsenal. <i>A. viridis</i> RNA datasets and toxin data mining approaches are briefly described. Analysis reveals the major pool of neurotoxins of <i>A. viridis</i>, which are particularly active on sodium and potassium channels. This review therefore integrates progress in both RNA-Seq based and biochemical-based bioprospecting of <i>A. viridis</i> toxins for biotechnological exploitation.