Bioactivity profiling of linear venom peptides from Italian small wood-scorpion (Euscorpius italicus)

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  Bioactivity profiling of linear venom peptides from Italian small wood-scorpion (Euscorpius italicus) Abstract BACKGROUND Rising host-expansion and the global spread of pest insects, confront agricultural sectors with substantial concerns. A promising source of potential lead compounds to target these growing challenges are animal venoms which abound with a huge diversity of bioactive peptides suited for both pest control and drug discovery. Arachnids in particular contribute substantially to the extreme diversity of highly adapted venom compounds, and for some of these, translational potential in pest control has already been demonstrated. Members of the Euscorpiidae family of scorpions are among the most successful groups of scorpions in Europe. Although they use their venom for hunting, none of their toxins has thus far been functionally evaluated as their low toxicity to humans has kept them out of the spotlight of venom research. We hypothesize that their venom peptides exer...

A revised classification system of the marronoid clade of spiders (Araneae), based on dense sampling phylogenomics and comparative morphology

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A revised classification system of the marronoid clade of spiders (Araneae), based on dense sampling phylogenomics and comparative morphology

Abstract

The marronoid clade is a globally distributed, ecologically diverse group of spiders. It is an important faunal component in both natural and synanthropic environments, and even found in aquatic and extreme habitats such as desert salt flats. The systematics of the marronoid clade has been notoriously unstable due to the widespread character homoplasy and phenotypic variation found across the group, resulting in vague family concepts. The present work aims to mitigate this problem by conducting the thus far most densely sampled phylogenetic study (including 58% of all known genera), combining genomic subsampling (ultraconserved elements) and marker sequencing approaches. Our study especially focused on the so-called Austral marronoids, which have not been sufficiently treated in recent revisionary works. Our results find robust evidence for a biogeographic separation of most marronoid families, which generally exhibit their highest diversity in temperate regions of both hemispheres and are poorly represented in the tropics. Based on our phylogenetic and comparative morphological study, we propose a revised classification system of the marronoid clade, comprising 18 families. We provide descriptions of each family, notes on their natural history and explain the gaps that persist in biodiversity documentation, delivering a robust foundation for future ecological, macro-evolutionary and taxonomic works.

Wolff, J. O., J. Kelly, M. B., Cala-Riquelme, F., Gorneau, J. A., Montana, K. O., Smith, H. M., Sirvid, P. J., Vink, C. J., Esposito, L. A., Ramírez, M. J., & Griswold, C. E. A revised classification system of the marronoid clade of spiders (Araneae), based on dense sampling phylogenomics and comparative morphology. Cladistics. https://doi.org/10.1111/cla.70057