In Memoriam: Giraldo Alayón García

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  In Memoriam: Giraldo Alayón García -  Photo © Facebook/National Museum of Natural History of Cuba In Memoriam: Giraldo Alayón García The arachnological community mourns the loss of Giraldo Alayón García, a Cuban zoologist whose work helped bring the spiders of Cuba and the wider Caribbean into clearer scientific view. As a researcher and curator at Cuba’s National Museum of Natural History, Dr. Alayón devoted decades to studying arachnids. His publications on spider taxonomy, evolution, and biogeography gave other researchers a stronger foundation for understanding the region’s biodiversity. He also shared that knowledge through teaching and scientific exchange far beyond Cuba. For those of us who care about taxonomy, his legacy is a reminder of the patient work behind every species description: examining specimens, recording differences, and preserving knowledge that others can build upon. His contributions will continue to guide the study of Caribbean spiders for years to ...

Comparative venomics suggests an evolutionary adaption of spider venom from predation to defense

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Comparative venomics suggests an evolutionary adaption of spider venom from predation to defense

Abstract

Most spiders deploy paralytic venom for prey capture, but adults of the Nurse´s thorn finger (Cheiracanthium punctorium) instead produce a predominantly defensive venom to safeguard their offspring. Here, we characterize the molecular repertoire of C. punctorium venom to shed light on its evolutionary history. Unlike venom in other spiders, C. punctorium venom mostly comprises neurotoxic double-domain neurotoxin 19 family (CSTX) peptides and enzymes, such as phospholipase A2 (PLA2). Comparative venomics in four spiders representing two infraorders shows that CSTXs arise following the mygalomorph–araneomorph split ~300 mya by means of ancestral gene duplication and functional specialization. A gene fusion event then appeared to have merged CSTXs from two distinct clades to form the double-domain toxin. PLA2 proteins are convergently recruited to C. punctorium to fulfil a defensive function and are strikingly similar to proalgesic PLA2 proteins in bee venom. These complex, multimodal molecular innovations in venom systems highlight nature’s tendency to use the same molecular solutions for similar ecological challenges across diverse animal lineages.

Lüddecke, T., Hurka, S., Dresler, J., Lübcke, T., Von Wirth, V., Lochnit, G., Timm, T., Herzig, V., & Vilcinskas, A. (2025). Comparative venomics suggests an evolutionary adaption of spider venom from predation to defense. Communications Biology, 8(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-09015-6