Spider Venom Peptides as Potential Allosteric Inhibitors of Undecaprenyl Diphosphatase (UppP) from Acinetobacter baumannii: In Silico Identification and Structural Analysis

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  Spider Venom Peptides as Potential Allosteric Inhibitors of Undecaprenyl Diphosphatase (UppP) from Acinetobacter baumannii: In Silico Identification and Structural Analysis Abstract The antimicrobial resistance of  Acinetobacter baumannii  necessitates the development of novel therapeutic strategies targeting essential enzymes such as Undecaprenyl Pyrophosphate Phosphatase (UppP). This study explored spider venom peptides in silico as potential allosteric inhibitors of  A. baumannii  UppP. A systematic literature review was conducted to select eight α-helical peptides with reported anti- A. baumannii  activity, followed by their computational physicochemical characterization. Three-dimensional models of  A. baumannii  UppP and the candidate peptides were generated, and a putative allosteric binding site was validated through molecular docking of a known inhibitor of the BacA homolog. The eight peptides were subsequently docked to this validated ...

An updated and annotated checklist of the spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Iraq

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An updated and annotated checklist of the spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Iraq

Abstract


An updated and annotated checklist of the spiders of Iraq, currently comprising 104 species in 75 genera and 29 families is presented, including six endemic and four subendemic species. Twenty-three records are considered misidentifications and therefore omitted from the checklist. Where possible, the misidentified records are attributed to other species based on their distribution and morphology; as a result of this, three species are recorded in Iraq for the first time: Dictis striatipes L. Koch, 1872 (Scytodidae), Hippasa deserticola Simon, 1889 (Lycosidae) and Latrodectus cinctus Blackwall, 1865 (Theridiidae). The history of studies and the geographical distribution of records are reviewed and discussed. The list is dominated by members of the families Gnaphosidae, Lycosidae, and Salticidae, comprising 15.4%, 13.5% and 10.6% of the total number of species, respectively.


Al-Khazali, Azhar & Kachel, Hamid & Zamani, Alireza & Hussen, Fenik. (2023). An updated and annotated checklist of the spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Iraq. Zootaxa. 5339. 132-158. 10.11646/zootaxa.5339.2.2.