Journal article
The assassin bug Pristhesancus plagipennis produces two distinct venoms in separate gland lumens
Nature Communications, Vol.9(1), 755
2018
Abstract
The assassin bug venom system plays diverse roles in prey capture, defence and extra-oral digestion, but it is poorly characterised, partly due to its anatomical complexity. Here we demonstrate that this complexity results from numerous adaptations that enable assassin bugs to modulate the composition of their venom in a context-dependent manner. Gland reconstructions from multimodal imaging reveal three distinct venom gland lumens: The anterior main gland (AMG); posterior main gland (PMG); and accessory gland (AG). Transcriptomic and proteomic experiments demonstrate that the AMG and PMG produce and accumulate distinct sets of venom proteins and peptides. PMG venom, which can be elicited by electrostimulation, potently paralyses and kills prey insects. In contrast, AMG venom elicited by harassment does not paralyse prey insects, suggesting a defensive role. Our data suggest that assassin bugs produce offensive and defensive venoms in anatomically distinct glands, an evolutionary adaptation that, to our knowledge, has not been described for any other venomous animal.
Details
- Title
- The assassin bug Pristhesancus plagipennis produces two distinct venoms in separate gland lumens
- Authors
- A A Walker (Author) - University of QueenslandM L Mayhew (Author) - University of QueenslandJ Jin (Author) - University of QueenslandVolker Herzig (Author) - University of QueenslandE A B Undheim (Author) - University of QueenslandA Sombke (Author) - University of QueenslandB G Fry (Author)D J Meritt (Author) - University of QueenslandG F King (Author) - University of Queensland
- Publication details
- Nature Communications, Vol.9(1), 755
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date published
- 2018
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41467-018-03091-5
- ISSN
- 2041-1723
- Copyright note
- Copyright © The Author(s) 2018. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit 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
- 99451102802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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