Insect-active toxins with promiscuous pharmacology from the African theraphosid spider Monocentropus balfouri

J J Smith; Volker Herzig; M P Ikonomopoulou; S Dziemborowicz; F Bosmans; G M Nicholson; G F King

doi:10.3390/toxins9050155

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Insect-active toxins with promiscuous pharmacology from the African theraphosid spider Monocentropus balfouri

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Insect-active toxins with promiscuous pharmacology from the African theraphosid spider Monocentropus balfouri

J J Smith, Volker Herzig, M P Ikonomopoulou, S Dziemborowicz, F Bosmans, G M Nicholson and G F King

Toxins, Vol.9(5), 155

2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins9050155

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Abstract

insecticide

pharmacology

venom

sodium channel

calcium channel

spider

Many chemical insecticides are becoming less efficacious due to rising resistance in pest species, which has created much interest in the development of new, eco-friendly bioinsecticides. Since insects are the primary prey of most spiders, their venoms are a rich source of insect-active peptides that can be used as leads for new bioinsecticides or as tools to study molecular receptors that are insecticidal targets. In the present study, we isolated two insecticidal peptides, µ/ω-TRTX-Mb1a and -Mb1b, from venom of the African tarantula Monocentropus balfouri. Recombinant µ/ω-TRTX-Mb1a and -Mb1b paralyzed both Lucilia cuprina (Australian sheep blowfly) and Musca domestica (housefly), but neither peptide affected larvae of Helicoverpa armigera (cotton bollworms). Both peptides inhibited currents mediated by voltage-gated sodium (NaV) and calcium channels in Periplaneta americana (American cockroach) dorsal unpaired median neurons, and they also inhibited the cloned Blattella germanica (German cockroach) NaV channel (BgNaV1). An additional effect seen only with Mb1a on BgNaV1 was a delay in fast inactivation. Comparison of the NaV channel sequences of the tested insect species revealed that variations in the S1-S2 loops in the voltage sensor domains might underlie the differences in activity between different phyla.

Details

Title: Insect-active toxins with promiscuous pharmacology from the African theraphosid spider Monocentropus balfouri
Authors: J J Smith (Author) - University of Queensland
Volker Herzig (Author) - University of Queensland
M P Ikonomopoulou (Author) - University of Queensland
S Dziemborowicz (Author) - University of Technology Sydney
F Bosmans (Author)
G M Nicholson (Author) - University of Technology Sydney
G F King (Author) - University of Queensland
Publication details: Toxins, Vol.9(5), 155; 18
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2017
DOI: 10.3390/toxins9050155
ISSN: 2072-6651
Copyright note: Copyright © 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450847002621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Food Science & Technology; Toxicology

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