Project description:The Tibellus genus spider is an active hunter that does not spin webs and remains highly underinvestigated in terms of the venom composition. Here, we present a combination of venom glands transcriptome cDNA analysis, venom proteome analysis for unveiling of the Tibellus genus spider venom composition.
Project description:Agelena koreana is indigenous spider in South Korea that lives on piles of trees building webs. RNA-sequencing was performed for venom gland tissue and whole body except venom gland.
Project description:Callobius koreanus (C.koreanus) is a wandering spider and a member of the Amaurobiidae family, infraorder Araneae. RNA-sequencing was performend for venom gland tissue and whole body except venom gland.
Project description:Spider silk proteins are synthesized in the silk-producing glands, where the spidroins are produced, stored and processed into a solid fiber from a crystalline liquid solution. Despite great interest in the spider silk properties, that make this material suitable for biomedical and biotechnological applications, the mechanism of formation and spinning of the silk fibers has not been fully elucidated; and no combination of proteomic and transcriptomic study has been carried out so far in the spider silk-producing glands. Nephila clavipes is an attractive orb-web spider to investigate the spinning process of silk production, given the properties of strength, elasticity and biocompatibility of their silk fibers. Thus, considering that the combination of proteomic and transcriptomic analysis may reveal an extensive repertoire of novel proteins involved in the silk spinning process, and in order to facilitate and enable proteomics in this non-model organism, the current study aims to construct a high quality reference mRNA-derived protein database that could be used to identify tissue specific expression patterns in spider silk glands. Next-generation sequencing has offered a powerful and cost-efficient technique for the generation of transcriptomic datasets in non-model species using diverse platforms such as the Illumina HiSeq, Roche 454, Pacific Biosystems, and Applied Biosystems SOLiD; In the current study, the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform will be used to generate a N. clavipes spider silk glands transcriptome-based protein database. The transcriptome data generated in this study will provide a comprehensive and valuable genomic resource for future research of the group of spider silk-producing glands, in order to improve our understanding of the overall mechanism of action involved in production, secretion, storage, transport, protection and conformational changes of spidroins during the spinning process, and prey capture; and the results may be relevant for scientists in material Science, biology, biochemistry, and environmental scientists.
Project description:The spider venom-derived peptide GsMTx4 specifically inhibits mechanosensory ion channels. It has been reported that GsMTx4 plays an immunoregulatory role in several inflammatory conditions. Therefore, we administrated GsMTx4 to mice with dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced acute colitis, to explore whether it regulates inflammatory responses in colitis.
Project description:(1) Secreted materials from the venom gland: 50 venom glands were cultured in 20 μL PBS for 2 hours. The cultured media were collected. Three biological replications were analyzed.
(2) Lysates of the venom glands: 50 venom glands were squashed in 50 μL PBS and centrifuged. The supernatants were collected. Three biological replications were analyzed.
Project description:Acanthoscurria juruenicola is an Amazonian tarantula spider described for the first time a century ago. Specimens of both genders are similar in size and in most morphological aspects, but ecological behavior and their venom composition remained unknown to date. Here we present the peptidomics characterization of the spider venom by a combination of mass spectrometric analysis of both native and digested peptides, venom gland transcriptomics and bioinformatics. A total of 367 native features were observed in the venom peptidome. Seventeen cysteine-rich peptides were simultaneously observed in the transcriptome and in the mass spectrometric experiments, from which fourteen were completely sequenced in the mature forms. The mature peptides have 3-5 disulfide bonds and cover the 3.7-8.6 kDa mass range. Moreover, in vivo paralytic activities of the whole venom were observed in crickets. In silico analysis indicated that all mature peptides are potentially antimicrobial and two may be potential anticancer agents. The antimicrobial activity was experimentally confirmed for the peptide Ap1a against Micrococcus luteus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans.