Proteomic Diversity of the Sea Anemone : Comparative Analysis of Nematocyst Venom, Mucus, and Tissue-Specific Profiles.

Sea anemones (Actiniaria, Cnidaria) are promising targets for biomedical research, as they produce unique bioactive compounds, including toxins and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). However, the diversity and mechanisms underlying their chemical defenses remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigate the proteomic profiles of the unexplored sea anemone by analyzing its venom nematocyst extract, tissues, and mucus secretion.

Unlocking Antimicrobial Peptides: In Silico Proteolysis and Artificial Intelligence-Driven Discovery from Cnidarian Omics.

Overcoming the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which affects millions of people worldwide, has driven attention for the exploration of marine-derived antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) for innovative solutions. Cnidarians, such as corals, sea anemones, and jellyfish, are a promising valuable resource of these bioactive peptides due to their robust innate immune systems yet are still poorly explored. Hence, we employed an in silico proteolysis strategy to search for novel AMPs from omics data of 111 Cnidaria species.

Evolutionary Analysis of Cnidaria Small Cysteine-Rich Proteins (SCRiPs), an Enigmatic Neurotoxin Family from Stony Corals and Sea Anemones (Anthozoa: Hexacorallia).

Cnidarians (corals, sea anemones, and jellyfish) produce toxins that play central roles in key ecological processes, including predation, defense, and competition, being the oldest extant venomous animal lineage. Cnidaria small cysteine-rich proteins (SCRiPs) were the first family of neurotoxins detected in stony corals, one of the ocean's most crucial foundation species. Yet, their molecular evolution remains poorly understood.