A comparison of adhesive performance among six cursorial spider species

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  A comparison of adhesive performance among six cursorial spider species Abstract The ability to adhere to surfaces is particularly relevant for cursorial predatory arthropods like hunting spiders, which often traverse relatively complex environments characterized by large variation in substrate properties. Here, we evaluated the adhesive performance of six hunting spider species that are common in eastern temperate North America and lack specialized tarsi for climbing smooth or inclined surfaces [Lycosidae: Pardosa lapidicina Emerton, 1885 and Rabidosa rabida (Walckenaer, 1837); Oxyopidae: Oxyopes salticus Hentz, 1845; Pisauridae: Pisaurina mira (Walckenaer, 1837); Dolomedidae: Dolomedes triton (Walckenaer, 1837), and Dolomedes scriptus Hentz, 1845]. We tested adhesion performance as shear load resistance (g) on a glass plate, and as the angle of failure (°) when the plate was gradually inclined relative to horizontal. Average angle of failure and shear resistance differed among ...

Venomics across the Bothrops neuwiedi Species Complex Revealed a P-III Snake Venom Metalloproteases/K49-PLA2 Dichotomy and a Remarkable Paraspecific Neutralization of the Brazilian Pentabothropic Antivenom

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Venomics across the Bothrops neuwiedi Species Complex Revealed a P-III Snake Venom Metalloproteases/K49-PLA2 Dichotomy and a Remarkable Paraspecific Neutralization of the Brazilian Pentabothropic Antivenom

Abstract

Snakes of the Bothrops neuwiedi complex are widely distributed and represent medically important species in Brazil. Here, we report compositional and functional profiles of the venom of seven species of Bothrops neuwiedi group: Bothrops mattogrossensis, Bothrops pauloensis, Bothrops pubescens, Bothrops diporus, Bothrops neuwiedi, Bothrops marmoratus, and Bothrops erythromelas. Toxin composition of individual and pooled venoms showed remarkable inter- and intraspecific variability of the relative abundance of toxins (evidenced by SDS-PAGE and RP-HPLC) and enzymatic activities (proteolytic, PLA2, and thrombin-like activities). In vivo analyses showed that B. erythromelas venom is the most hemorrhagic, B. diporus was the most lethal, and B. pubescens showed the highest myotoxic activity. Histopathological analysis showed that all venoms induced edema, hemorrhage, inflammatory infiltrate, and necrosis of muscle fibers. Consistent with large research evidence on the paraspecificity of various commercial antivenoms generated in Latin America, the pentabothropic antivenom produced by Instituto Butantan showed a high profile of immunoreactivity and lethality neutralization capability toward the venoms of the seven species of the B. neuwiedi clade. Interpreted through the prism of evolution, our data revealed a PIII-SVMP/K49-PLA2 compositional dichotomy and a remarkable conservation of immunological cross-reactivity across congeneric venoms throughout the 12–16 million years of Bothrops phylogeny.


Galizio NDC, Serino-Silva C, Fabri Bittencourt Rodrigues C, Stuginski DR, Rocha MMTD, Serapicos EO, Barbarini CC, Oliveira RB, Sant'Anna SS, Grego KF, Sanz L, Tena-Garcés J, de Roodt AR, Calvete JJ, Tanaka-Azevedo AM, de Morais-Zani K. Venomics across the Bothrops neuwiedi Species Complex Revealed a P-III Snake Venom Metalloproteases/K49-PLA2 Dichotomy and a Remarkable Paraspecific Neutralization of the Brazilian Pentabothropic Antivenom. J Proteome Res. 2026 Jan 22. doi: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.5c00933. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41570121.