A Pseudoscorpion's Promising Pinch: The venom of Chelifer cancroides contains a rich source of novel compounds

Krämer, Jonas; Peigneur, Steve; Tytgat, Jan; Jenner, Ronald A.; Toor, Ron van; Predel, Reinhard

doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2021.08.012

Cited by 4 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(68 reference statements)

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“…in venom research [13][14][15][16][17]. Toxins from animal venoms are known to target a plethora o physiological processes and hence are suitable candidates for new lead compound [18,19].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Besides new insights into venom evolution, sampling across a wider taxonomic range has the potential of identifying bioactive compounds with a high degree of novelty [12]. This was demonstrated by studies on the venom composition of several other groups previously neglected in venom research [13][14][15][16][17]. Toxins from animal venoms are known to target a plethora of physiological processes and hence are suitable candidates for new lead compounds [18,19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How to Overcome a Snail? Identification of Putative Neurotoxins of Snail-Feeding Firefly Larvae (Coleoptera: Lampyridae, Lampyris noctiluca)

Krämer,

Hölker,

Predel

2024

Toxins

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The larvae of some lampyrid beetles are highly specialized predators of snails. They have been observed to climb on the shells of their prey and use this exposed position to bite and inject secretions potentially originating from the midgut. Besides serving the purpose of extra-oral digestion (EOD), injected compounds also seem to have a paralyzing effect. Up to now, the toxins causing this paralyzing activity have not been identified. In the current study, we provide a first compositional analysis of the midgut secretion from lampyrid larvae, with a focus on identifying putative neurotoxins causing the observed paralyzing effect. For this purpose, we utilized a combined proteo-transcriptomic approach to characterize the compounds present in the midgut secretion of larval stages of Lampyris noctiluca. In terms of the absolute numbers of identified compounds, the midgut secretion is dominated by hydrolyzing enzymes comprising peptidases, carboxylesterases, and glycosidases. However, when considering expression levels, a few rather short cysteine-rich peptides exceed all other compounds. Some of these compounds show moderate similarity to putative neurotoxins identified in the venom of other arthropods and could be responsible for paralyzing effects. In addition to these potential toxins, we provide a list of peptides typical of the midgut secretion of L. noctiluca, supplemented by the corresponding precursor sequences.

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“…in venom research [13][14][15][16][17]. Toxins from animal venoms are known to target a plethora o physiological processes and hence are suitable candidates for new lead compound [18,19].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to Overcome a Snail? Identification of Putative Neurotoxins of Snail-Feeding Firefly Larvae (Coleoptera: Lampyridae, Lampyris noctiluca)

Krämer,

Hölker,

Predel

2024

Toxins

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“…The house pseudoscorpion produces eight checacins, seven showing antimicrobial activity. 35 , 39 , 40 Extrapolating this to the entire family of Cheliferidae, which features more than 60 genera and at least 270 species, results in a high number of promising molecules to be investigated, assuming that a similar number of checacins can be found in the venom of all species. 39 The same principle applies to the multitude of small spiders, scorpions, and ticks that are likewise known to produce toxins with potent antimicrobial activities but have yet to be investigated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 39 A few studies have been carried out in the last 5 years, revealing the presence of several pharmacologically promising toxins. 36 , 39 , 40 For example, the venom of the house pseudoscorpion ( Chelifer cancroides ) contains checacins, a novel family of toxins with eight known members (checacins 1 to 7 and the toxin referred to as Novel Chelifer Venom Compound 11 [NCVC 11]). 39 These are similar to megicin, a toxin from the Mediterranean checkered scorpion ( Mesobuthus gibbosus ) known to possess antimicrobial activity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determining the pharmacological potential and biological role of linear pseudoscorpion toxins via functional profiling

Erkoc,

Schiffmann,

Ulshöfer

et al. 2024

iScience

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“…Identification of venom compounds was performed similarly as described in [ 39 ]. Precursors of potential venom compounds were identified by matching the fragment spectra of Quadrupole Orbitrap MS analyses against the telson-transcriptomes of male and female E. italicus , utilizing the software PEAKS 10 (PEAKS Studio 10; BSI, Toronto, ON, Canada).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Equipped for Sexual Stings? Male-Specific Venom Peptides in Euscorpius italicus

Krämer

Pommerening

Predel

2022

IJMS

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In the animal kingdom, intraspecific variation occurs, for example, between populations, different life stages, and sexes. For venomous animals, this can involve differences in their venom composition. In cases where venom is utilized in the context of mating, the differences in composition might be driven by sexual selection. In this regard, the genus Euscorpius is a promising group for further research, as some of these scorpions exhibit a distinct sexual dimorphism and are known to perform a sexual sting during mating. However, the venom composition of this genus remains largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate that Euscorpius italicus exhibits a male-specific venom composition, and we identify a large fraction of the substances involved. The sex specificity of venom peptides was first determined by analyzing the presence/absence patterns of ion signals in MALDI-TOF mass spectra of venom samples from both sexes and juveniles. Subsequently, a proteo-transcriptomic analysis provided sequence information on the relevant venom peptides and their corresponding precursors. As a result, we show that several potential toxin precursors are down-regulated in male venom glands, possibly to reduce toxic effects caused to females during the sexual sting. We have identified the precursor of one of the most prominent male-specific venom peptides, which may be an ideal candidate for activity tests in future studies. In addition to the description of male-specific features in the venom of E. italicus, this study also includes a general survey of venom precursors in this species.

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A Pseudoscorpion's Promising Pinch: The venom of Chelifer cancroides contains a rich source of novel compounds

Cited by 4 publications

References 53 publications

How to Overcome a Snail? Identification of Putative Neurotoxins of Snail-Feeding Firefly Larvae (Coleoptera: Lampyridae, Lampyris noctiluca)

How to Overcome a Snail? Identification of Putative Neurotoxins of Snail-Feeding Firefly Larvae (Coleoptera: Lampyridae, Lampyris noctiluca)

Determining the pharmacological potential and biological role of linear pseudoscorpion toxins via functional profiling

Equipped for Sexual Stings? Male-Specific Venom Peptides in Euscorpius italicus

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