芋螺毒素基因资源研究进展

Research Progress of Conopeptide Gene Resources

芋螺毒素和微生物的次生代谢产物与植物的生物碱一样,具有生物多样性的特点。芋螺毒素特有的二硫键骨架和化学修饰后特异的空间结构,使其具有特异的稳定性和药理学活性。对芋螺毒素基因的分析和新型基因的克隆筛选,是深入研究各种受体、离子通道及其亚型,进而在克隆表达的靶受体上设计和筛选高效新药的前提。芋螺毒素基因资源的研究在芋螺毒素新基因及其编码产物毒素肽的发现与利用方面发挥了重要作用。现对该领域的新进展进行论述。

Conotoxins have the characteristics of high diversity,like the secondary metabolites of the microorganisms and the alkaloids of the plants.Because of the specific disulfide bonds and the spatial structure after chemical modification,conopeptides have specific stability and pharmacological activity.Conopeptide genes＇ discovery and analysis are the precondition of not only the intensive study of various receptors,ion channels and their subtypes,but also the design and screening of the effective new drugs based on the expressed receptors.The research of the conopeptide gene resources plays an important role in the discovery and utilization of novel genes and coded peptides of the conotoxins.The research progress of the conopeptide gene resources was discussed.