EditorialThe wonderful world of spiders: preface to the special Toxicon issue on spider venoms
Section snippets
The wonderful world of spiders
Spiders provoke a wider range of emotions virtually than any other creature. To many, the chance early morning sighting of a delicate orb-web, decorated with beads of dew and backlit by the morning sun, while its eight-legged architect-builder adorns the hub, is one of the most miraculous and inspiring sights in nature. To others, the merest glimpse of a spider provokes an irrational and often debilitating fear. Some individuals suffer such severe arachnophobia that therapeutic intervention is
Anatomy and phylogeny of spiders: a brief primer
Taxonomically, spiders comprise the order Araneae within the class Arachnida, which also includes scorpions, pseudoscorpions, ticks, and mites (Fig. 1). Arachnids differ from insects in lacking antennae and wings, and having eight legs rather than six. Moreover, whereas insects have three distinct body segments, most arachnids have only two—the prosoma/cephalothorax (combined head and thorax), and the opisthosoma/abdomen, which in spiders are separated by a narrow pedicel or ‘waist’. The
Spider venom and the evolution of combinatorial peptide chemistry
The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again;
So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready, to dine upon the Fly.
(From The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt, 1829)
All spiders are predators and, with the exception of the hackled orbweavers (Uloboridae) and certain species of primitive mesothelids, all have venom glands. Uloborids swathe their prey so tightly with feathery (hackled) silk that they have
What is covered in this issue?
The intention of this volume is to provide an overview of the remarkable complexity of spider venoms, a realistic assessment of the danger they pose to humans, and an examination of their potential for drug and insecticide discovery. At the same time, an attempt has been made to cover diverse geographic regions and taxa (see Fig. 1 for a summary). The combined geographic range of the araneomorph and mygalomorph spiders covered in this issue includes all continents except Antarctica, which is
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Dr Pierre Escoubas for valuable discussions and the US National Science Foundation for continued financial support. I would also like to express my appreciation to the many talented graduate students who have contributed to my lab's research on spider venoms.
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Cited by (58)
Can we resolve the taxonomic bias in spider venom research?
2019, Toxicon: XToxin diversity revealed by the venom gland transcriptome of Pardosa pseudoannulata, a natural enemy of several insect pests
2018, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology - Part D: Genomics and ProteomicsVenomous extract protein profile of Brazilian tarantula Grammostola iheringi: Searching for potential biotechnological applications
2016, Journal of ProteomicsCitation Excerpt :These results are in accordance to Cabezas-Cruz and Valdés [35], who showed that tick saliva proteins, including lectins, PLA2 and the Kunitz family, have similar properties to those found in scorpion, spider, snake, platypus and bee venoms [35]. In addition, phylogenetic studies have demonstrated that spiders are taxonomically in the same level as ticks and mites, within the class Arachnida [9]. The major arthropod venom components are peptide toxins, which range from 30 to 100 amino acid residues reticulated by 3–7 disulfide bridges; consequently, these small proteins have globular conformation in native conditions [36].
Metabolic cost of venom replenishment by Prairie Rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis viridis)
2014, ToxiconCitation Excerpt :Despite the advantages conveyed by venom, there are multiple examples of secondary loss of venom by species within traditionally venomous groups (Morgenstern and King, 2013). The marbled sea snake (Aipysurus eydouxii) apparently lost venom activity due to a dietary switch (Li et al., 2005), while uloborid spiders have also secondarily lost active venom and currently employ other predation techniques (King, 2004). These examples of the secondary loss of venom have been cited as proof that venom and its use comes at a considerable cost (Morgenstern and King, 2013).