Website Update: Email Subscriptions Discontinued

Posted by
  Website Update: Email Subscriptions Discontinued I want to share an important update regarding email subscriptions and newsletters on Arácnido Taxonomy. Effective immediately, I have discontinued using Mailchimp for email newsletter subscriptions. Over the past several days, the subscription system and associated website functions have been subjected to persistent automated bot activity and attempted exploitation. In addition to generating unwanted subscription activity, these requests have contributed to periods of reduced website performance. To help protect the website, its content, and legitimate visitors, the Mailchimp subscription and registration functions have been removed. Following Arácnido Taxonomy via RSS For the foreseeable future, RSS will be the primary way to subscribe to and follow new posts and updates from Arácnido Taxonomy. RSS provides a simple, direct way to receive new content without submitting an email address or creating an account. Once the Arácnido Ta...

Acetylcholine-binding protein 5 regulates extracellular apoptosis in the wolf spider as a sacrificial ROS scavenger

Posted by

 

Acetylcholine-binding protein 5 regulates extracellular apoptosis in the wolf spider as a sacrificial ROS scavenger

Abstract

Apoptosis is regulated by a conserved gene network across species for maintaining homeostasis and stress response. While intracellular apoptotic pathways are well characterized, the extracellular mechanisms governing apoptosis remain largely unexplored, probably due to divergence in species-specific gene sets involved in extracellular regulation. Here, we uncover a novel extracellular apoptotic mechanism mediated by acetylcholine-binding protein 5 (AChBP5) in the wolf spider Pardosa pseudoannulata. AChBP5 is highly expressed in the spider fat-body (midgut diverticula), while other four AChBP genes are abundantly expressed in the tissue brain. Among five AChBP genes, only AChBP5 exhibited broad transcriptional induction upon exposure to various insecticides, including neonicotinoids and other classes. AChBP5 expression was also upregulated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) including H2O2, key triggers of apoptosis. Functional assays demonstrated that, in cultured cells, AChBP5 acted as an extracellular sacrifice buffer against oxidative stress to maintain cell viability, becoming progressively inactivated by ROS in a concentration-dependent manner. RNAi-mediated silencing of AChBP5 significantly increased spider susceptibility to both-induced and direct oxidative stress, underscoring its critical protective function. Collectively, these findings support a model in which lineage-specific genes, AChBP5 may contribute to extracellular modulation of apoptosis and provide a mechanism by which spiders could respond to chemical stressors.
Zhang, H., Wang, J., Tan, Y., Zhang, J., Shi, C., Hu, T., Wang, K., & Liu, Z. (2026). Acetylcholine-binding protein 5 regulates extracellular apoptosis in the wolf spider as a sacrificial ROS scavenger. Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology, 219, 107001. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pestbp.2026.107001