Scientific Reports (Dec 2022)

Mucus-derived exosome-like vesicles from the Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris): taking advantage of invasive pest species in biotechnology

  • Michaela Liegertová,
  • Alena Semerádtová,
  • Michaela Kocholatá,
  • Michaela Průšová,
  • Lenka Němcová,
  • Marcel Štofik,
  • Sylvie Kříženecká,
  • Jan Malý,
  • Olga Janoušková

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26335-3
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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Abstract The slug Arion vulgaris has attracted major attention as one of the worst invasive herbivore pests in Europe and is renowned for the stiff mucus it secretes for locomotion. In this study we focused on the isolation and characterisation of extracellular vesicles, specifically exosomes and exosome-like vesicles, from Arion secretions. We developed a method for slug mucus collection and subsequent vesicle isolation by ultracentrifugation. The isolated vesicles with an average diameter of ~ 100 nm carry abundant proteins and short RNAs, as well as adhesion molecules similar to mammalian galectins. We demonstrated that the slug extracellular vesicles are internalised by plant cells and human cancer cells in in vitro assays and are loadable by bioactive compounds, which makes them an interesting tool for utilisation in biotechnology.