Photoreceptor physiology of two species of crab spiders (Araneae: Thomisidae)

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  Photoreceptor physiology of two species of crab spiders (Araneae: Thomisidae) Abstract Spiders are a diverse order of predatory arachnids with more than 53.000 described species, most of which have eight eyes. Many webless hunting spiders, most noticeably the jumping spiders (Salticidae) have been shown to have excellent eyes with high spatial resolution and colour vision. The family of crab spiders (Thomisidae) is also hypothesized to be visual hunters, employing a “sit and wait” or ambush hunting technique; however, little is currently known about their visual capacity. Here we use extracellular electrophysiology to examine the photoreceptor physiology of two crab spiders living in two different ecological niches.  Ozyptila praticola  (C.L. Koch, 1837) hunts on the ground in dim habitats whereas  Xysticus cristatus  (Clerck, 1757) hunts in the typical bright open grasslands. We test the hypotheses that (1) each species has special-purpose eyes, (2) that male...

Unveiling the Diversity and Modifications of Short Peptides in Buthus martensii Scorpion Venom through Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry

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Unveiling the Diversity and Modifications of Short Peptides in Buthus martensii Scorpion Venom through Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

More recently, short peptides in scorpion venom have received much attention because of their potential for drug discovery. Although various biological effects of these short peptides have been found, their studies have been hindered by the lack of structural information especially in modifications. In this study, small peptides from scorpion venom were investigated using high-performance liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry followed by de novo sequencing. A total of 156 sequences consisting of 2~12 amino acids were temporarily identified from Buthus martensii scorpion venom. The identified peptides exhibited various post-translational modifications including N-terminal and C-terminal modifications, in which the N-benzoyl modification was first found in scorpion venom. Moreover, a short peptide Bz-ARF-NH2 demonstrated both N-terminal and C-terminal modifications simultaneously, which is extremely rare in natural peptides. In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive insight into the diversity, modifications, and potential bioactivities of short peptides in scorpion venom.

Zeng, Ling, Cangman Zhang, Mingrong Yang, Jianfeng Sun, Jingguang Lu, Huixia Zhang, Jianfeng Qin, Wei Zhang, and Zhihong Jiang. 2024. "Unveiling the Diversity and Modifications of Short Peptides in Buthus martensii Scorpion Venom through Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry" Toxins 16, no. 3: 155. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins16030155