Project description:Spiders are renowned for their efficient capture of flying insects using intricate aerial webs. How the spider nervous systems evolved to cope with this specialized hunting strategy and various environmental clues in an aerial space remains unknown. Here, we report a brain cell atlas of >30,000 single-cell transcriptomes from a web-building spider (Hylyphantes graminicola). Our analysis revealed the preservation of ancestral neuron types in spiders, including the potential coexistence of noradrenergic and octopaminergic neurons, and many peptidergic neuronal types that are lost in insects. By comparing the genome of two newly sequenced plesiomorphic burrowing spiders with three aerial web-building spiders, we found that the positively selected genes in the ancestral branch of web-building spiders were preferentially expressed (42%) in the brain, especially in the three mushroom body-like neuronal types. By gene enrichment analysis and RNAi experiments, these genes were suggested to be involved in the learning and memory pathway and may influence the spiders’ web-building and hunting behavior. Our results provide key sources for understanding the evolution of behavior in spiders and reveal how molecular evolution drives neuron innovation and the diversification of associated complex behaviors.
Project description:In order to provide a global insight on the transcripts expressed in the venom gland of the Brazilian ant species Tetramorium bicarinatum and to unveil the potential of its products, high-throughput expressed sequence tags were generated using Illumina paired-end sequencing technology. A total of 212,371,758 pairs of quality-filtered, 100-base-pair Illumina reads were obtained. The de novo assemblies yielded 36,042 contigs for which 27,873 have at least one predicted ORF among which 59.77% produce significant hits in the available databases. The investigation of the reads mapping toxin class revealed a high diversification with the major part consistent with the classical hymenopteran venom protein signature represented by venom allergen (33.3%) followed by a diverse toxin-expression profile including several distinct isoforms of phospholipase A1 and A2, venom serine protease, hyaluronidase, protease inhibitor and secapin. Moreover, our results revealed for the first time the presence of toxin-like peptides that have been previously identified from unrelated venomous animals such as waprin-like (snakes) and agatoxins (spiders and conus). 300 ant specimens from the species Tetramorium bicarinatum were dissected in order to extract the RNA from their venom gland, The whole ant body was used as a reference,
Project description:In order to provide a global insight on the transcripts expressed in the venom gland of the Brazilian ant species Tetramorium bicarinatum and to unveil the potential of its products, high-throughput expressed sequence tags were generated using Illumina paired-end sequencing technology. A total of 212,371,758 pairs of quality-filtered, 100-base-pair Illumina reads were obtained. The de novo assemblies yielded 36,042 contigs for which 27,873 have at least one predicted ORF among which 59.77% produce significant hits in the available databases. The investigation of the reads mapping toxin class revealed a high diversification with the major part consistent with the classical hymenopteran venom protein signature represented by venom allergen (33.3%) followed by a diverse toxin-expression profile including several distinct isoforms of phospholipase A1 and A2, venom serine protease, hyaluronidase, protease inhibitor and secapin. Moreover, our results revealed for the first time the presence of toxin-like peptides that have been previously identified from unrelated venomous animals such as waprin-like (snakes) and agatoxins (spiders and conus).
Project description:Spiders are a highly diverse group of arthropods that occur in most habitats on land. Notably, spiders have significant ecological impact as predators because of their extraordinary prey capture adaptations, venom and silk. Spider venom is among the most heterogeneous animal venoms and has pharmacological applications, while spider silk is characterized by great toughness with potential for biomaterial application. We describe the genome sequences of two spiders representing two major taxonomic groups, the social velvet spider Stegodyphus mimosarum (Araneomorphae), and the Brazilian white-knee tarantula Acanthoscurria geniculata (Mygalomorphae). We annotate genes using a combination of transcriptomic and in-depth proteomic analyses. The genomes are large (2.6 Gb and 6 Gb, respectively) with short exons and long introns and approximately 50% repeats, reminiscent of typical mammalian genomes. Phylogenetic analyses show that spiders and ticks are sister groups outgrouped by mites, and phylogenetic dating using a molecular clock dates separation of velvet spider and tarantula at 270 my. Based on the genomes and proteomes, we characterize the genetic basis of venom and silk production of both species in detail. Venom protein composition differs markedly between the two spiders, with lipases as the most abundant protein in the velvet spider and present only at low concentration in tarantula. Venom in both spiders contains proteolytic enzymes, and our analyses suggest that these enzymes target and process precursor peptides that subsequently mediate the toxic effects of venom. Complete analysis of silk genes reveal a diverse suite of silk proteins in the velvet spider including novel types of spidroins, and dynamic evolution of major ampullate spidroin genes, whereas silk protein diversity in tarantula is far less complex. The difference in silk proteins between species is consistent with a more complex silk gland morpholgy and use of three-dimentional capture webs consisting of multiple silk types in aranomorph spiders.
Project description:Prey-specialised spiders are adapted to capture specific prey items, including dangerous prey such as ants, termites or other spiders. It has been observed that the venoms of specialists are often prey-specific and less complex than those of generalists, but venom composition has not been studied in detail in prey-specialised spiders. Here, we investigated the venom of the prey-specialised white-tailed spider (Lamponidae: Lampona sp.), which utilises specialised morphological and behavioural adaptations to capture spider prey. We hypothesised Lampona spiders also possess venomic adaptations, specifically, its venom is more effective to focal spider prey due to the presence of prey-specific toxins. We analysed the venom composition using proteo-transcriptomics and taxon-specific toxicity using venom bioassays. Our analysis identified 208 putative toxin sequences, comprising 103 peptides <10 kDa and 105 proteins >10 kDa. Most peptides belonged to one of two families characterised by scaffolds containing eight or ten cysteine residues. Protein toxins showed similarity to galectins, leucine-rich repeat proteins, trypsins and neprilysins. The venom of Lampona was shown to be spider-specific, as it was more potent against the preferred spider prey than against alternative prey represented by a cricket. In contrast, the venom of a related generalist (Gnaphosidae: Gnaphosa sp.) was similarly potent against both prey types. Prey-specific Lampona toxins were found to form part of the protein (>10 kDa) fraction of the venom. These data provide insights into the molecular adaptations of venoms produced by prey-specialised spiders.
Project description:Orb-weaving spiders use a highly strong, sticky and elastic web to catch their prey. These web properties alone would be enough for the entrapment of prey; however, these spiders may be hiding venomous secrets in the web, which current research is revealing. Here, we provide strong proteotranscriptomic evidence for the presence of toxin/neurotoxin-like proteins, defensins and proteolytic enzymes on the web silk from Nephila clavipes spider. The results from quantitative-based transcriptomics and proteomic approaches showed that silk-producing glands produce an extensive repertoire of toxin/neurotoxin-like proteins, similar to those already reported in spider venoms. Meanwhile, the insect toxicity results demonstrated that these toxic components can be lethal and/or paralytic chemical weapons used for prey capture on the web; and the presence of fatty acids in the web may be responsible mechanism for open the way to the web-toxins for accessing the interior of prey's body, as showed here. Comparative phylogenomic-level evolutionary analyses revealed orthologous genes among two spider groups - Araneomorphae and Mygalomorphae; and the findings showed protein sequences similar to toxins found in the taxa Scorpiones and Hymenoptera in addition to Araneae. Overall, these data represent a valuable resource to further investigate other spider web toxin systems; these data also suggest that N. clavipes web is not a passive mechanical trap for prey capture, but it exerts an active role in prey paralysis/killing using a series of neurotoxins.
Project description:Complementary bottom-up MS/MS analyses contributed to complete a locus-resolved venom phenotype map for O. hannah, the world's longest venomous snake and a species of medical concern across its wide distribution range in forests from India through Southeast Asia. Its venom composition convincingly explains the main neurotoxic effects of human envenoming caused by king cobra bite. The integration of efficient chromatographic separation of the venom components, and locus-resolved toxin identification through top-down and bottom-up MS/MS-based species-specific database searching, promises a bright future to the field of venom research.