First record of bird and spider species preying on dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) in the Amazon Forest

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  First record of bird and spider species preying on dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) in the Amazon Forest Abstract Predator-prey relationships are critical for establishing trophic networks, but our understanding of these interactions is hindered by a lack of records in tropical rainforest ecosystems. Although literature indicates that dung beetles may be preyed by a wide range of animal species, surprisingly, there are no such antagonistic records between dung beetles and other species in the Amazon forest. The objective of this study is to present two records of such interactions in the Amazon, involving a bird and a spider species preying on dung beetles. The bird  Galbula albirostris  Latham, 1790 (Aves: Galbulidae) was observed feeding on a Deltochilini dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in a  terra firme  forest, while a  Canthidum  sp. was captured in a  Trichonephila  sp. (Araneae: Nephilidae) spider web on a...

Venomous gland transcriptome and venom proteomic analysis of the scorpion Androctonus amoreuxi reveal new peptides with anti-SARS-CoV2 activity.

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Venomous gland transcriptome and venom proteomic analysis of the scorpion Androctonus amoreuxi reveal new peptides with anti-SARS-CoV2 activity.


The recent COVID-19 pandemic shows the critical need for novel broad spectrum antiviral agents. Scorpion venoms are known to contain highly bioactive peptides, several of which have demonstrated strong antiviral activity against a range of viruses. We have generated the first annotated reference transcriptome for the Androctonus amoreuxi venom gland and used high performance liquid chromatography, transcriptome mining, circular dichroism and mass spectrometric analysis to purify and characterize fourteen new venom peptides. Selected peptides were tested for binding to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and inhibition of the spike RBD – human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) interaction using surface plasmon resonance-based assays. Seven peptides showed dose-dependent inhibitory effects. The most active peptide was synthesized using solid phase peptide synthesis and tested for its antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 (Lineage B.1.1.7). On exposure of replication-competent SARS-CoV-2 to the synthetic peptide, we observed a two log10 PFU/mL reduction at sub-micromolar concentrations of the peptide compared to virus exposed to medium alone. Our results show that scorpion venom peptides can inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD – hACE2 interaction, exhibit anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity through other unexplored modes of 3 actions and represent excellent scaffolds for design of novel anti-SARS-CoV-2 constrained peptides.


Ahmad Ghazal, David Clarke, Mohamed A. Abdel-Rahman et al. Venomous gland transcriptome and venom proteomic analysis of the scorpion Androctonus amoreuxi reveal new peptides with anti-SARS-CoV2 activity., 31 August 2023, PREPRINT (Version 2) available at Research Square [https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2706268/v2]