DOI: 10.5061/dryad.mb687
title: Data from: The role of defensive ecological interactions in the evolution of conotoxins

description: Venoms comprise of complex mixtures of peptides evolved for predation and
 defensive purposes. Remarkably, some carnivorous cone snails can inject
 two distinct venoms in response to predatory or defensive stimuli,
 providing a unique opportunity to study separately how different
 ecological pressures contribute to toxin diversification. Here, we report
 the extraordinary defensive strategy of the Rhizoconus subgenus of cone
 snails. The defensive venom from this worm-hunting subgenus is unusually
 simple, almost exclusively composed of αD-conotoxins instead of the
 ubiquitous αA-conotoxins found in the more complex defensive venom of
 mollusc- and fish-hunting cone snails. A similarly compartmentalised venom
 gland as those observed in the other dietary groups facilitates the
 deployment of this defensive venom. Transcriptomic analysis of a C.
 vexillum venom gland revealed the αD-conotoxins as the major transcripts,
 with lower amounts of 15 known and 4 new conotoxin superfamilies also
 detected with likely roles in prey-capture. Our phylogenetic and molecular
 evolution analysis of the αD-conotoxins from five subgenera of cone snails
 suggests they evolved episodically as part of a defensive strategy in the
 Rhizoconus subgenus. Thus, our results demonstrate an important role for
 defence in the evolution of conotoxins.
description: List of Conotoxins from
 C. vexillumAn excel sheet
 containing the list of transcripts from C. vexillum. Sequences were run on
 ConoPREC to predict cleavage sites.C.Vex_final_conoPREC.xlsxSignal_DMA distance matrix of the signal sequences of conotoxin transcripts from the C. vexillum venom gland.C. vexillum Distal sectionMS-file of C. vexillum distal section20120926S2.wiffC. vexillum Distal Central sectionMS file of C. vexillum Distal Central section20120926S3.wiffC. vexillum Proximal Central sectionMS file of C. vexillum Proximal Central section20120926S4.wiffC. vexillum Proximal sectionMS of C. vexillum Proximal section20120926S5.wiffC. vexillum Defensive milking 1MS of C. vexillum Defensive milking 120120926S6.wiffC. vexillum Defensive milking 2MS of C. vexillum Defensive milking 220120926S7.wiffC.Vex_Distal_MSMS20121011S1 - Distal section digested with GluC; 20121011S2 - Distal section digested with Trypsin; 20121011S3 - Distal section (Reduced and Alkylated)C.Vex_DC_MSMS20121011S16 - DC section digested with GluC; 20121011S17 - DC section digested with Trypsin; 20121011S16 - DC section reduced and alkylated.C.Vex_PC_MSMS20121011S19 - PC section digested with GluC; 20121011S20 - DC section digested with Trypsin; 20121011S21 - PC section reduced and alkylatedC.Vex_P_MSMS20121011S28 - P section digested with GluC; 20121011S29 - P section digested with Trypsin; 20121011S30 - P section reudced and alkylatedC.Vex_DV_MSMS20121011S37 - Defensive venom digested with GluC; 20121011S38 - Defensive venom digested with Trypsin; 20121011S39 - Defensive venom reduced and alkylatedC. Cap_DV_MSMSS1 - C. cap defensive venom native; S2 - C. cap defensive venom reduced and alkylated; S3 - C. cap defensive venom digested with Trypsin.DSuperfamily_PhylogeneticsSequence alignments, phylogenetic trees and Molecular Evolution inputs.C. Capitaneus MALDI Imaging filesC. Capitaneus MALDI Imaging filesCAP.zip