Conus biodiversity

Franklin, J. Benjamin, Subramanian, K. A., Fernando, S. Antony & Krishnan, K. S., 2009, 2250, Zootaxa 2250, pp. 1-63 : 5

Importance of Conus biodiversity study

The cone shells have fascinated biologists from time immemorial. Recently, these snails captivated a new set of admirers among biochemists and pharmacologists with their unique venoms. The venom of some species is powerful enough to kill a human being ( Rumphius 1705). The crude venom of cone snails is a cocktail of different peptides termed as ‘conotoxins’ ( Olivera et al. 1985, 1991; Olivera & Cruz 2001). The venom of each species of Conus has estimated to comprise between 100–200 peptide components ( Myers et al. 1993; Alonso et al. 2003; Olivera 2006). Conotoxins have proved to be a valuable probe in physiological and pharmacological studies of ion channels and other receptors ( Olivera & Teichert 2007). To date, only 100 out of a potential 50,000 toxins have been extracted and analysed ( Wright et al. 2002). Since a single species of Conus can yield 100–200 peptides with potential therapeutic uses, it is hoped that discovery of new species of cone snails would add to the knowledge of extant species as well as to the chemical diversity of pharmacologically active peptides.