Identification of Novel Conotoxin Precursors from the Cone Snail by High-Throughput RNA Sequencing.

Marine gastropods of the genus , comprising more than 800 species, have the characteristic of injecting worms and other prey with venom. These conopeptide toxins, highly diverse in structure and action, are highly potent and specific for their molecular targets (ion channels, receptors, and transporters of the prey's nervous system), and thus are important research tools and source for drug discovery. Next-generation sequencing technologies are speeding up the discovery of novel conopeptides in many of these species, but only limited information is available for , which inhabits sandy mud.