Venom Mass Fingerprints for Species Delimitation, Reloaded: A Test Case with Italian Scorpions (Euscorpius)

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  Venom Mass Fingerprints for Species Delimitation, Reloaded: A Test Case with Italian Scorpions (Euscorpius) Abstract Scorpion venoms are complex mixtures of bioactive compounds including proteins, peptides and enzymes. Although venoms exhibit substantial intraspecific variation, some compounds appear to be species-specific, highlighting their potential as chemotaxonomic markers. Venom mass fingerprints (MFPs) derived from Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) Mass Spectrometry (MS) have been proposed as a means of delimiting species. However, their utility for species delimitation has rarely been evaluated against independent sources of taxonomic evidence. In the present study, the performance of MALDI-TOF MS-based venom peptide barcoding (mass ranges of m/z 800‒4500 and m/z 3000‒10,000) was assessed in 52 populations of eight Italian species of the scorpion genus Euscorpius Thorell, 1876, representing different levels of evolutionary divergenc...

ERGA-BGE reference genome of Leviellus thorelli, a common orb-weaving spider representing the Zygiellidae family

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ERGA-BGE reference genome of Leviellus thorelli, a common orb-weaving spider representing the Zygiellidae family

Abstract

The Leviellus thorelli reference genome provides the first high-quality genomic resource for Zygiellidae, a family of orb-weaving spiders with a dynamic systematic history and distinct for constructing webs with a characteristic spiral-free sector. As part of the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA), we generated a chromosome-level assembly for L. thorelli that is organized into 13 contiguous chromosomal pseudomolecules. This chromosome-level assembly encompasses 2.20 Gb and is composed of 939 contigs and 130 scaffolds, with contig and scaffold N50 values of 5.4 Mb and 167.1 Mb, respectively. This genome represents a valuable addition to the growing collection of spider genomes. With Zygiellidae now included among the available genomes of true orb-weavers, this is a key resource for comparative studies into the genomic basis of orb web and silk evolution.

Gregorič M, Bužan E, Böhne A et al. ERGA-BGE reference genome of Leviellus thorelli, a common orb-weaving spider representing the Zygiellidae family [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]. Open Res Europe 2025, 5:365 (https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.21671.1)