From folkloric origins to scientific systematics: the first detailed redescription of the type species of Lycosa Latreille, 1804 with insight into the genus (Araneae: Lycosidae)

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  From folkloric origins to scientific systematics: the first detailed redescription of the type species of Lycosa Latreille, 1804 with insight into the genus (Araneae: Lycosidae) Abstract The genus  Lycosa  has often served as a wastebasket taxon for species whose systematic position within the Lycosidae remains unclear. This is partly due to the lack of clear information regarding the diagnostic characters of its nominal species, the southern European  Lycosa tarantula  (Linnaeus, 1758). Despite being known for centuries by both academics and the general public, with the earliest published depictions dating back to the late 16 th  century, the taxonomy of this species has long been neglected. In this study, we redescribe  L. tarantula  based on samples from its ‘ terra typica ’ in southern Italy. We provide detailed photographs and illustrations of the diagnostic characters of both the copulatory organs and the habitus of the species, along with...

Discovery of broadly-neutralizing antibodies against brown recluse spider and Gadim scorpion sphingomyelinases using consensus toxins as antigens

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Discovery of broadly-neutralizing antibodies against brown recluse spider and Gadim scorpion sphingomyelinases using consensus toxins as antigens

Abstract

Broadly-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies are becoming increasingly important tools for treating infectious diseases and animal envenomings. However, designing and developing broadly-neutralizing antibodies can be cumbersome using traditional low-throughput iterative protein engineering methods. Here, we present a new high-throughput approach for the standardized discovery of broadly-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies relying on phage display technology and consensus antigens representing average sequences of related proteins. We showcase the utility of this approach by applying it to toxic sphingomyelinases from the venoms of species from very distant orders of the animal kingdom, the recluse spider and Gadim scorpion. First, we designed a consensus sphingomyelinase and performed three rounds of phage display selection, followed by DELFIA-based screening and ranking, and benchmarked this to a similar campaign involving cross-panning against recombinant versions of the native toxins. Second, we identified two scFvs that not only bind the consensus toxins, but which can also neutralize sphingomyelinase activity of native whole venom in vitro. Finally, we conclude that the phage display campaign involving the use of the consensus toxin was more successful in yielding cross-neutralizing scFvs than the phage display campaign involving cross-panning.

Lampadariou, S., Møiniche, M., Bohn, M. F., Kazemi, S. M., & Laustsen, A. H. (2024). Discovery of broadly-neutralizing antibodies against brown recluse spider and Gadim scorpion sphingomyelinases using consensus toxins as antigens. Protein Science, 33(3), e4901. https://doi.org/10.1002/pro.4901