Comparative venomics suggests an evolutionary adaption of spider venom from predation to defense.

ABSTRACT: Most spiders deploy paralytic venom for prey capture, but adults of the Nurse´s thorn finger (Cheiracanthium punctorium) instead produce a predominantly defensive venom to safeguard their offspring. Here, we characterize the molecular repertoire of C. punctorium venom to shed light on its evolutionary history. Unlike venom in other spiders, C. punctorium venom mostly comprises neurotoxic double-domain neurotoxin 19 family (CSTX) peptides and enzymes, such as phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂). Comparative venomics in four spiders representing two infraorders shows that CSTXs arise following the mygalomorph-araneomorph split ~300 mya by means of ancestral gene duplication and functional specialization. A gene fusion event then appeared to have merged CSTXs from two distinct clade

SUBMITTER: Luddecke T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12550024 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature