Biofactories Applied to Future Antivenom Production

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  Image Credit: By Ssiltane - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52242648 Biofactories Applied to Future Antivenom Production Abstract Background: Accidents caused by the  Loxosceles laeta  spider constitute a health problem in South America. Envenomation can lead to severe systemic manifestations, eventually compromising the patient’s life. Most regional health authorities consider antivenom administration the basis of effective treatment in the most serious cases. The availability of spider venom is the primary bottleneck for antivenom production. Herein, we present a novel biotechnological approach, based on the expression of recombinant versions of the most relevant toxin in loxoscelism, sphingomyelinase D (SphD), in insect larvae ( Spodoptera frugiperda ).  Methods: We produced two versions of SphD: one conserving its biological activities (wtSphD) and a second alternative that was designed to be genetically detoxified (dSphD...

Six new species of Pandercetes L. Koch, 1875 (Araneae: Sparassidae: Heteropodinae) from Southeast Asia

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Six new species of Pandercetes L. Koch, 1875 (Araneae: Sparassidae: Heteropodinae) from Southeast Asia

Abstract

Six new species, Pandercetes batak sp. nov. (♂♀), P. barisanensis sp. nov. (♀; both from Sumatra, Indonesia), P. cheemai sp. nov. (♂♀; Laos), P. mindanaoensis sp. nov. (♂; Philippines, Mindanao), P. jaegeri sp. nov. (♀) and P. bataanensis sp. nov. (♀; both from Philippines, Luzon) are described. The genus is recorded from Laos, Philippines and Sumatra for the first time. The discovery of P. cheemai sp. nov. represents the northernmost record for the genus range. Genus Pandercetes is re-diagnosed. For two species, P. longipes Thorell, 1881 and P. peronianus (Walckenaer, 1837), the distribution data listed in the World Spider Catalog was found to be inaccurate and has now been revised. Detailed descriptions, digital photographs and a distributional map of all new species are provided.

Omelko, M.M. & Fomichev, A.A. (2026) Six new species of Pandercetes L. Koch, 1875 (Araneae: Sparassidae: Heteropodinae) from Southeast Asia. Zootaxa, 5787 (2), 291–312. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5787.2.4