Exaptation of two ancient immune proteins into a new dimeric pore-forming toxin in snails.

The Membrane Attack Complex-Perforin (MACPF) family is ubiquitously found in all kingdoms. They have diverse cellular roles, however MACPFs with pore-forming toxic function in venoms and poisons are very rare in animals. Here we present the structure of PmPV2, a MACPF toxin from the poisonous apple snail eggs, that can affect the digestive and nervous systems of potential predators. We report the three-dimensional structure of PmPV2, at 17.2 Å resolution determined by negative-stain electron microscopy and its solution structure by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). We found that PV2s differ from nearly all MACPFs in two respects: it is a dimer in solution and protomers combine two immune proteins into an AB toxin. The MACPF chain is linked by a single disulfide bond to a tachylectin chain, and two heterodimers are arranged head-to-tail by non-covalent forces in the native protein. MACPF domain is fused with a putative new Ct-accessory domain exclusive to invertebrates. The tachylectin is a six-bladed ß-propeller, similar to animal tectonins. We experimentally validated the predicted functions of both subunits and demonstrated for the first time that PV2s are true pore-forming toxins. The tachylectin "B" delivery subunit would bind to target membranes, and then the MACPF "A" toxic subunit would disrupt lipid bilayers forming large pores altering the plasma membrane conductance. These results indicate that PV2s toxicity evolved by linking two immune proteins where their combined preexisting functions gave rise to a new toxic entity with a novel role in defense against predation. This structure is an unparalleled example of protein exaptation.

De novo assembly of the transcriptome of an invasive snail and its multiple ecological applications.

Studying how invasive species respond to environmental stress at the molecular level can help us assess their impact and predict their range expansion. Development of markers of genetic polymorphism can help us reconstruct their invasive route. However, to conduct such studies requires the presence of substantial amount of genomic resources. This study aimed to generate and characterize genomic resources using high throughput transcriptome sequencing for Pomacea canaliculata, a nonmodel gastropod indigenous to Argentina that has invaded Asia, Hawaii and southern United States. De novo assembly of the transcriptome resulted in 128,436 unigenes with an average length of 419 bp (range: 150-8556 bp). Many of the unigenes (2439) contained transposable elements, showing the existence of a source of genetic variability in response to stressful conditions. A total of 3196 microsatellites were detected in the transcriptome; among 20 of the randomly tested microsatellites, 10 were validated to exhibit polymorphism. A total of 15,412 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected in the ORFs. LC-MS/MS analysis of the proteome of juveniles revealed 878 proteins, of which many are stress related. This study has demonstrated the great potential of high throughput DNA sequencing for rapid development of genomic resources for a nonmodel organism. Such resources can facilitate various molecular ecological studies, such as stress physiology and range expansion.