In Memoriam: Gérard Dupré (1947–2026) — A Life Devoted to the Study of Scorpions

Posted by
  Photo Credit: Le Parisien In Memoriam: Gérard Dupré (1947–2026) — A Life Devoted to the Study of Scorpions The passing of Gérard Dupré (1947–2026) is a deeply felt loss for those of us who share an interest in the study of scorpions and other arachnids. Throughout his life, he dedicated himself to documenting and preserving arachnological knowledge, contributing valuable work on scorpion taxonomy, distribution, and bibliography. His careful attention to the literature helped bring clarity and organization to a field whose history spans centuries and many languages. Gérard was also closely associated with the journal Arachnides , which became an important outlet for sharing research, faunistic records, and historical notes within the arachnological community. Through this work, he helped ensure that observations and studies—large and small—were preserved and made accessible to others with similar scientific interests. Beyond his scholarly contributions, Gérard was a humble and gen...

Engineering a wolf spider A-family toxin towards increased antimicrobial activity but low toxicity

Posted by

 

Engineering a wolf spider A-family toxin towards increased antimicrobial activity but low toxicity

Abstract


Peptides with insecticidal, antimicrobial and/or cytolytic activities, also known as spider venom antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), can be found in the venoms of RTA-clade spiders. They show translational potential as therapeutic leads. A set of 52 AMPs has been described in the Chinese wolf spider (Lycosa shansia), and many have been shown to exhibit antibacterial effects. Here we explored the potential to enhance their antimicrobial activity using bioengineering. We generated a panel of artificial derivatives of an A-family peptide and screened their activity against selected microbial pathogens, vertebrate cells and insects. In several cases, we increased the antimicrobial activity of the derivatives while retaining the low cytotoxicity of the parental molecule. Furthermore, we injected the peptides into adult Drosophila suzukii and found no evidence of insecticidal effects, confirming the low levels of toxicity. Our data therefore suggest that spider venom linear peptides can be modified into more potent antimicrobial agents that could help to battle infectious diseases in the future.

Engineering a wolf spider A-family toxin towards increased antimicrobial activity but low toxicity
Ludwig Dersch, Antonia Stahlhut, Johanna Eichberg, Anne Paas, Kornelia Hardes, Andreas Vilcinskas, Tim Lueddecke

bioRxiv 2024.03.04.583312; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.04.583312