Scorpion venom as a source of new antimicrobial agents

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  Scorpion venom as a source of new antimicrobial agents Abstract The escalating global threat of antimicrobial resistance necessitates urgent discovery of novel therapeutic agents. Scorpion venom, a complex cocktail of bioactive molecules, has emerged as a promising reservoir of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with potent activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens. This review comprehensively examines the structural and functional diversity of scorpion-derived AMPs and their therapeutic potential. Scorpion venom AMPs exhibit remarkable structural heterogeneity. Their physicochemical properties, characterized by cationic charge, amphipathicity, and α-helical or β-sheet conformations, underpin their antimicrobial efficacy. These peptides demonstrate broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity encompassing Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites. Mechanistically, scorpion AMPs employ multifaceted strategies including membrane disruption through pore format...

Resurrection of the erigonine spider Ceratinopsis tybeensis (Araneae: Linyphiidae) with the first description of the male

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Resurrection of the erigonine spider Ceratinopsis tybeensis (Araneae: Linyphiidae) with the first description of the male

Abstract 

The erigonine linyphiid spider Ceratinopsis tybeensis Chamberlin & Ivie, 1944 was described from a single female collected in Savannah Beach, Georgia, USA. Subsequently, it was declared a junior synonym of Masonetta floridana (Ivie & Barrows, 1935) by Ivie (1967). However, recent multiple collections of females of M. floridana with specimens of an undescribed erigonine male has thrown this synonymy into question. Recent new research using morphological and molecular evidence supports our hypotheses that the synonymy proposed by Ivie is erroneous and the new male is the previously undescribed male of C. tybeensis. Herein, we resurrect C. tybeensis, provide the first description of the male, redescribe the female, and document increases to the known ranges of C. tybeensis and M. floridana. 

Milne, M. A. & Stahl, T. (2026). Resurrection of the erigonine spider Ceratinopsis tybeensis (Araneae: Linyphiidae) with the first description of the male. Arachnology 20(5): 744-748.