Highly efficient production of versatile linear cupiennins in spider venom glands as identified by 454- and Illumina 3000 sequencing. Venom gland transcriptome analysis of cupiennins by 454- and Illumina 3000 sequencing

The first comprehensive transcriptome analysis of cupiennins, small linear cationic peptides, also known as cytolytic or antimicrobial peptides, is reported from the venom gland transcriptome of Cupiennius salei by 454- and Illumina 3000 sequencing. Four transcript families (A-D) with complex precursor structures are responsible for the expression of 179 linear peptides. The transcript families start with a signal peptide and after an anionic propeptide, cationic linear peptides are separated by anionic linkers, which are transcript family specific.

本研究首次通过454与Illumina 3000测序技术，对塞氏杯蛛（Cupiennius salei）毒腺转录组（transcriptome）中的杯尼菌素（cupiennins）——一类小型线性阳离子肽，亦被称为溶细胞肽（cytolytic peptides）或抗菌肽（antimicrobial peptides）——开展了全面的转录组分析。四类具备复杂前体结构的转录家族（A-D）负责编码179种线性肽。此类转录家族均以信号肽（signal peptide）为起始，在带负电的前肽（propeptide）之后，阳离子线性肽通过转录家族特异性的阴离子接头分隔。