Evolution and Molecular Biology of Marine Biotoxins

A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine and Freshwater Toxins".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2018) | Viewed by 5887

Special Issue Editors

Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
Interests: harmful algal blooms; qPCR; phylogenetics; evolution; molecular ecology; benthic dinoflagellates; systematics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
1. Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
2. Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB), Ammerländer Heerstraße 231, 23129 Oldenburg, Germany
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Marine biotoxins that impact the aquaculture and fisheries industries are generally produced by microbial eukaryotic species, particularly dinoflagellates, as well as haptophytes, diatoms, and other organisms. In the past few years, the first information has been established on the molecular biological basis of some marine biotoxins. Methodological breakthroughs such as the increasing ease and decreasing cost of next generation sequencing, allowing for transcriptomic characterisation of dinoflagellates and other protists, coupled with advances in toxin determination and detection methods, have allowed us to examine genes potentially involved in marine biotoxin synthesis in these organisms, while improving our understanding of the toxin analogs specifically produced.

In this Special Issue, we welcome papers analysing issues in the evolution and genetics of marine biotoxins. In particular, we would like to invite the submission of research identifying transcripts and genes potentially involved in toxin biosynthesis in specific organisms; studies on the regulatory mechanisms of genes potentially involved in toxin biosynthesis; studies of the use of molecular genetic markers for marine biotoxin monitoring; research analysing the relationship between species and/or gene phylogenies and toxin production; and studies addressing any other questions of relevance to the molecular ecology and molecular evolution of marine biotoxins.

Assoc. Prof. Shauna Murray
Dr. Uwe John
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxins is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • marine biotoxin
  • transcript
  • gene
  • polyketide synthesis
  • sxtA
  • saxitoxin biosynthesis
  • molecular evolution
  • phylogenetics
  • qPCR
  • gene regulation

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

22 pages, 4408 KiB  
Article
Proteomic Investigation to Identify Anticancer Targets of Nemopilema nomurai Jellyfish Venom in Human Hepatocarcinoma HepG2 Cells
by Indu Choudhary, Hyunkyoung Lee, Min Jung Pyo, Yunwi Heo, Jinho Chae, Seung Shic Yum, Changkeun Kang and Euikyung Kim
Toxins 2018, 10(5), 194; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins10050194 - 10 May 2018
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5478
Abstract
Nemopilema nomurai is a giant jellyfish that blooms in East Asian seas. Recently, N. nomurai venom (NnV) was characterized from a toxicological and pharmacological point of view. A mild dose of NnV inhibits the growth of various kinds of cancer cells, mainly hepatic [...] Read more.
Nemopilema nomurai is a giant jellyfish that blooms in East Asian seas. Recently, N. nomurai venom (NnV) was characterized from a toxicological and pharmacological point of view. A mild dose of NnV inhibits the growth of various kinds of cancer cells, mainly hepatic cancer cells. The present study aims to identify the potential therapeutic targets and mechanism of NnV in the growth inhibition of cancer cells. Human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells were treated with NnV, and its proteome was analyzed using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI/TOF/MS). The quantity of twenty four proteins in NnV-treated HepG2 cells varied compared to non-treated control cells. Among them, the amounts of fourteen proteins decreased and ten proteins showed elevated levels. We also found that the amounts of several cancer biomarkers and oncoproteins, which usually increase in various types of cancer cells, decreased after NnV treatment. The representative proteins included proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), elongation factor 1γ (EF1γ), nucleolar and spindle-associated protein (NuSAP), and activator of 90 kDa heat shock protein ATPase homolog 1 (AHSA1). Western blotting also confirmed altered levels of PCNA, GRP78, and G6PD in NnV-treated HepG2 cells. In summary, the proteomic approach explains the mode of action of NnV as an anticancer agent. Further characterization of NnV may help to unveil novel therapeutic agents in cancer treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution and Molecular Biology of Marine Biotoxins)
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