Harnessing snake venom cardiotoxins for antimicrobial peptide discovery

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  Harnessing snake venom cardiotoxins for antimicrobial peptide discovery Abstract Snake venoms are a rich source of bioactive molecules with considerable potential for drug discovery. Cardiotoxins (CTXs) from cobras ( Naja spp.) are membrane-active venom proteins and promising templates for antimicrobial peptide development. Here, we combined two computational toxin-mining strategies to identify antimicrobial peptide candidates from CTXs. First, AMPA-guided sequence mining was used to detect encrypted antimicrobial regions within CTX sequences. Second, sequence alignment and consensus-sequence analysis were employed to generate peptides from a conserved CTX scaffold. Candidate peptides were prioritised using multiple machine learning- and deep learning-based antimicrobial peptide prediction tools, resulting in fourteen CTX-inspired peptides, including two modified derivatives of CTX-p5. Antimicrobial screening showed limited activity across the peptide panel, with CTX-p5 exhibiti...

The Darwin wasp Camera thoracica (Szépligeti, 1916) (Ichneumonidae) as a natural enemy of the dreaded Brazilian wandering spider Phoneutria nigriventer (Keyserling, 1891) (Ctenidae)

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The Darwin wasp Camera thoracica (Szépligeti, 1916) (Ichneumonidae) as a natural enemy of the dreaded Brazilian wandering spider Phoneutria nigriventer (Keyserling, 1891) (Ctenidae)

Abstract
Wandering spiders (genus Phoneutria) hold a prominent position as some of the world's most medically significant venomous arachnids, especially in Brazil. In this study, we record and illustrate for the first time, the Darwin wasp Camera thoracica (Szépligeti, 1916) as a natural enemy of the ctenid Phoneutria nigriventer (Keyserling, 1891). Furthermore, we provide a description of the previously unknown male wasp, update and standardize the description of the female, and provide biological notes.

Special thanks to Thiago Kloss for providing me this manuscript through ResearchGate

Pádua, Diego & Santos, Isamara & Santos, Bernardo & Faustino-Magalhães, Mayara & Souza, Maria & Kloss, Thiago. (2024). The Darwin wasp Camera thoracica (Szépligeti, 1916) (Ichneumonidae) as a natural enemy of the dreaded Brazilian wandering spider Phoneutria nigriventer (Keyserling, 1891) (Ctenidae). Zootaxa. 5403. 459-468. 10.11646/zootaxa.5403.4.4.