Hainan Team Synthesizes Ed-79, a 37-Residue Sea Anemone Toxin That Kills Fall Armyworm and Mealworm Pests
Researchers at Hainan Medical University reported in Molecules on October 23, 2026 a new peptide, Ed-79, found by screening the transcriptome of the sea anemone Exaiptasia diaphana: 37 amino acids held together by three disulfide bonds, made by solid-phase synthesis and folded in three oxidative steps. It killed fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) and mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) larvae in a dose-dependent way, with LD50 values of 289.5 and 367.2 pmol/g. Computer docking predicts it binds the outer vestibule of the Shaker potassium channel; that binding mode has not been confirmed experimentally.