ISOLATION AND STRUCTURE OF POMPILIDOTOXINS, NOVEL PEPTIDE NEUROTOXINSIN SOLITARY WASP VENOMS

Novel peptide neurotoxins, alpha- and beta-pompilidotoxins (alpha- and beta-PMTXs), were purified from the venoms of the solitary wasps Anop lius samariensis and Batozonellus maculifrons. Their structures were a nalyzed mostly by MALDI-TOF-MS, which were corroborated by solid-phase synthesis. alpha-PMTX, with 13 amino acid residues and the sequence o f e-Lys-Ile-Gly-Leu-Phe-Gln-Asp-Leu-Ser-Lys-Leu-NH2, greatly potentiat es synaptic transmission of lobster leg muscle by the presynaptic mech anisms. beta-PMTX, in which the lysine residue at 12 position of alpha -PMTX was replaced with arginine, was more potent than alpha-PMTX. (C) 1998 Academic Press.