Antitumor activity of scorpion venom-derived peptides: A meta-analysis of preclinical studies

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  Antitumor activity of scorpion venom-derived peptides: A meta-analysis of preclinical studies Abstract Despite advances in cancer therapeutics, there are still challenges in improving drug toxicity and selectivity. Peptides from various venous species have recently garnered attention for their biopharmaceutical potential, particularly in cancer. The present study aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of the antitumor activity of scorpion venom-derived peptides (SVDPs) previously reported in preclinical models. The bibliographic research included original and review articles written in English published from 2015 to 2026. Studies within the scope were retrieved from the EBSCO Discovery Service, PubMed, and WIPO databases. A total of 27 articles that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in this research, and the collected data were synthesized through a meta-analysis. In the included in vitro and in vivo studies, the effect of SVDPs on breast/mammary gland, cervical,...

Honey, What's for Dinner? Dietary Overlap and Size Dimorphism Between Female and Male Joro Spiders (Trichonephila clavata)

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Honey, What's for Dinner? Dietary Overlap and Size Dimorphism Between Female and Male Joro Spiders (Trichonephila clavata)


ABSTRACT

Selection on body size tends to favor larger males that outcompete smaller males to mate with females, and larger, more fecund females. For many web-building spiders in the Nephilidae family, reproductive success increases with body size, which in turn, is related to diet. The diet of female spiders may overlap with males who share her web, but diet patterns could depend on size if certain males have better access to prey ensnared in the web. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that Joro spider (Trichonephila clavata) dietary patterns are sex-specific and related to body size and condition. We combined morphometric size analysis with molecular gut content analysis via DNA metabarcoding and high-throughput sequencing to characterize male and female Joro spider diets from 60 webs at 25 locations. Female Joro spiders were larger than males and their diets were more diverse. While male Joro spiders consumed the same prey taxa as females, more than 50 additional taxa were detected in female diets, which led to significant dissimilarity in prey composition between sexes. As male body size increased, diet diversity and body condition decreased, suggesting a potential trade-off between time spent foraging versus active defense of their position on the web. Female and male spiders captured from the same web shared prey taxa. However, the proportion of prey overlap was not related to male size. Combined, Joro spiders show sex-specific dietary patterns, and males appear to have less access to the diverse food captured in female webs.

Grabarczyk, E. E., Tillman, P. G., Querejeta, M., & Schmidt, J. M. Honey, What's for Dinner? Dietary Overlap and Size Dimorphism Between Female and Male Joro Spiders (Trichonephila clavata). Integrative Zoology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.12947

Image Citation: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Trichonephila clavata. (2025, January 6). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichonephila_clavata