The chromosome-level genome of Mesobuthus martensii provides insights into its evolution and the diversity of venom peptides

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  The chromosome-level genome of Mesobuthus martensii provides insights into its evolution and the diversity of venom peptides Abstract Mesobuthus martensii , the source species of the traditional Chinese medicine “Quanxie”, has long been utilized for its therapeutic properties. Venom peptides are recognized as the major active molecular basis of these pharmacological activities. Despite this, their development as therapeutic agents remains poorly explored. In this study, we performed an integrated multi-omics investigation to systematically explore the venom peptides of Mesobuthus martensii . We generated a chromosome-level genome assembly of Mesobuthus martensii using third-generation sequencing technologies, yielding a genome size of 1.08 Gb with a contig N50 of 46.46 Mb. Integrated genomic and transcriptomic analyses led to the identification of 51 putative novel venom peptide candidates. From the broader venom peptide set, five lysine- and arginine-rich candidates were select...

Evidence for multiple paternity in the trapdoor spider Bothriocyrtum californicum (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1874) (Araneae: Halonoproctidae)

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Photo Credit: By Davefoc - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5145162


Evidence for multiple paternity in the trapdoor spider Bothriocyrtum californicum (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1874) (Araneae: Halonoproctidae)

Abstract

Inbreeding avoidance via polyandry is a common response to combat inbreeding depression across multiple taxa, but has never been investigated in the Halonoproctidae. With a member of this family, the trapdoor spider Bothriocyrtum californicum (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1874), Ramirez et al. (2013) found no evidence for inbreeding in several southern California populations, but did not examine polyandry. Hence, in this study, we determined the extent of multiple paternity in broods of B. californicum. To do so, we gathered broods and mothers from two sites in Los Angeles, CA, and then genotyped each mother and up to 50 spiderlings for variation at the phosphoglucomutase locus. Among nine sets of broods, six showed significant deviations from the Mendelian genotype ratios expected under the hypothesis of single paternity. This indicates that B. californicum females sometimes mate with multiple male partners. This is certainly an adaptive feature for a low-dispersal trapdoor spider residing in island-like units where inbreeding may be more likely.


Martina G. Ramirez, Sofia Acosta, Kelli Andrade, Chinelo Okafor, Lauren Quesada, Ivana Small, Emily Sramaty, Matthew Berdiago, Miya Strait, Ava Toluie, Marisol Castellanos, Pateel Margossian, Rachel Head, Delilah Simon, Gabriela Lopez, Massy Tamoori, Jazmin Sevilla, Sarah Rosales, Ally Zein, Soaad Alfaqaan, Mindi Catala, Therese Blanch, Kiara Cerda, Alexis Alcaraz, Jennifer Gonzalez "Evidence for multiple paternity in the trapdoor spider Bothriocyrtum californicum (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1874) (Araneae: Halonoproctidae)," Arachnology, 19(8), 1122-1126, (9 July 2024)