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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
The Deadly Toxin Arsenal of the Tree-Dwelling Australian Funnel-Web Spiders
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Vol.23(21), pp.1-17
2022
PMID: 36361863
Abstract
Australian funnel-web spiders are amongst the most dangerous venomous animals. Their venoms induce potentially deadly symptoms, including hyper- and hypotension, tachycardia, bradycardia and pulmonary oedema. Human envenomation is more frequent with the ground-dwelling species, including the infamous Sydney funnel-web spider (Atrax robustus); although, only two tree-dwelling species induce more severe envenomation. To unravel the mechanisms that lead to this stark difference in clinical outcomes, we investigated the venom transcriptome and proteome of arboreal Hadronyche cerberea and H. formidabilis. Overall, Hadronyche venoms comprised 44 toxin superfamilies, with 12 being exclusive to tree-dwellers. Surprisingly, the major venom components were neprilysins and uncharacterized peptides, in addition to the well-known ω- and δ-hexatoxins and double-knot peptides. The insecticidal effects of Hadronyche venom on sheep blowflies were more potent than Atrax venom, and the venom of both tree- and ground-dwelling species potently modulated human voltage-gated sodium channels, particularly NaV1.2. Only the venom of tree-dwellers exhibited potent modulation of voltage-gated calcium channels. H. formidabilis appeared to be under less diversifying selection pressure compared to the newly adapted tree-dweller, H. cerberea. Thus, this study contributes to unravelling the fascinating molecular and pharmacological basis for the severe envenomation caused by the Australian tree-dwelling funnel-web spiders.
Details
- Title
- The Deadly Toxin Arsenal of the Tree-Dwelling Australian Funnel-Web Spiders
- Authors
- Fernanda C. Cardoso (Author) - The University of QueenslandSandy S. Pineda (Author) - The University of QueenslandVolker Herzig (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for BioinnovationKartik Sunagar (Author) - Indian Institute of Science BangaloreNaeem Yusuf Shaikh (Author) - Indian Institute of Science BangaloreAi-Hua Jin (Author) - The University of QueenslandGlenn F. King (Author) - The University of QueenslandPaul F. Alewood (Author) - The University of QueenslandRichard J. Lewis (Author) - The University of QueenslandSébastien Dutertre (Corresponding Author) - Université de Montpellier
- Publication details
- International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Vol.23(21), pp.1-17
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Date published
- 2022
- DOI
- 10.3390/ijms232113077
- ISSN
- 1422-0067; 1661-6596
- PMID
- 36361863
- Copyright note
- © 2022 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 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Grants
- Grant note
- IA/I/19/2/504647 / DBT/Welcome Trust India Alliance Fellowship; ANR-16-CE34-0002 / French National Research Agency
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99690998802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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