Two new arthropod toxins purified from the venom of the Mexican scorpion Centruroides nigrescens

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  Two new arthropod toxins purified from the venom of the Mexican scorpion Centruroides nigrescens Abstract The venom of the slender black scorpion Centruroides nigrescens , from the State of Guerrero México, was fractionated by Sephadex G–50 gel filtration, followed by carboxymethyl cellulose ion separation and high–performance liquid chromatography, permitting to obtain two new peptides toxic to arthropods. The estimate LD 50 of the soluble venom for the insect Acheta domesticus was 11.1 μg/g body weight, and for the arthropod Armadillidium vulgare was 61.1 μg body weight . The amino acid sequence of toxin Cnige1 (toxic to A. domesticus and A. vulgare ) contains 65 amino acids, with a molecular mass of 7273.37 mass units, whereas toxin Cnige2, toxic to A. domesticus , contains 68 amino acids, with a molecular mass of 7548.81 units. Both peptides are well packed, containing 8 cysteines, which in the native venoms are forming 4 disulfide bridges each. The amino acid sequences f...

Venom extraction method influences venom composition and potency in the giant house spider Eratigena atrica (C. L. Koch, 1843)

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Venom extraction method influences venom composition and potency in the giant house spider Eratigena atrica (C. L. Koch, 1843)

Abstract

Extraction is the first step when investigating venom composition and function. In small invertebrates, widely used extraction methods include electrostimulation and venom gland extraction, however, the influence of these methods on composition and toxicology is poorly understood. Using the Giant House Spider Eratigena atrica as a model, we show that electrostimulation and venom gland removal extraction methods produce different protein profiles as assessed by Coomassie-stained SDS-PAGE and significantly different potencies in the cricket Acheta domesticus.

Keith Lyons, Michel M. Dugon, Aoife Boyd, Kevin Healy, Venom extraction method influences venom composition and potency in the giant house spider Eratigena atrica (C. L. Koch, 1843), Toxicon, Volume 234, 2023, 107303, 

ISSN 0041-0101, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2023.107303.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041010123002891)