{"title":"<i>Cupiennius</i> spiders (Trechaleidae) from southern Mexico: DNA barcoding, venomics, and biological effect.","authors":"Montserrat Padilla-Villavicencio, Gerardo Corzo, Karina Guillén-Navarro, Guillermo Ibarra-Núñez, Iván Arenas, Fernando Zamudio, Elia Diego-García","doi":"10.1590/1678-9199-JVATITD-2023-0098","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Members of the genus <i>Cupiennius</i> Simon, 1891 are categorized as wandering spiders and are part of the family Trechaleidae. The genomics and proteomics of <i>Cupiennius</i> spiders from North America remain uncharacterized. The present study explores for the first time molecular data from the endemic species <i>Cupiennius chiapanensis</i> Medina, 2006, and also presents new data for <i>Cupiennius salei</i> (Keyserling, 1878), both collected in southern Mexico.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In total, 88 <i>Cupiennius</i> specimens were collected from southern Mexico and morphologically identified. DNA was extracted and the mitochondrial COI fragment was amplified. COI sequences were analyzed, and a phylogenetic tree was inferred for species from the Americas. Genetic diversity was analyzed using haplotype networks and gene distances. Venom was obtained from <i>C. chiapanensis</i> and <i>C. salei</i> by electrostimulation. The venom was separated by HPLC, visualized using SDS-PAGE, and quantified for use in toxicity bioassays in mice and insects.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Analysis of COI sequences from <i>C. chiapanensis</i> showed 94% identity with <i>C. salei</i>, while <i>C. salei</i> exhibited 94-97% identity with sequences from Central and South American conspecifics. The venom from <i>C. chiapanensis</i> exhibited toxic activity against crickets. Venoms from <i>C. chiapanensis</i> and <i>C. salei</i> caused death in <i>Anastrepha obliqua</i> flies. Analysis of venom fractions from <i>C. salei</i> and <i>C. chiapanensis</i> revealed molecular masses of a similar size as some previously reported toxins and neurotoxic components. We determined the amino acid sequences of ChiaTx1 and ChiaTx2, toxins that are reported here for the first time and which showed toxicity against mice and insects.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our work is the first to report COI-based DNA barcoding sequences from southern Mexican <i>Cupiennius</i> spiders. Compounds with toxic activity were identified in venom from both species.</p>","PeriodicalId":17565,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins Including Tropical Diseases","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11333084/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins Including Tropical Diseases","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-9199-JVATITD-2023-0098","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"TOXICOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Members of the genus Cupiennius Simon, 1891 are categorized as wandering spiders and are part of the family Trechaleidae. The genomics and proteomics of Cupiennius spiders from North America remain uncharacterized. The present study explores for the first time molecular data from the endemic species Cupiennius chiapanensis Medina, 2006, and also presents new data for Cupiennius salei (Keyserling, 1878), both collected in southern Mexico.
Methods: In total, 88 Cupiennius specimens were collected from southern Mexico and morphologically identified. DNA was extracted and the mitochondrial COI fragment was amplified. COI sequences were analyzed, and a phylogenetic tree was inferred for species from the Americas. Genetic diversity was analyzed using haplotype networks and gene distances. Venom was obtained from C. chiapanensis and C. salei by electrostimulation. The venom was separated by HPLC, visualized using SDS-PAGE, and quantified for use in toxicity bioassays in mice and insects.
Results: Analysis of COI sequences from C. chiapanensis showed 94% identity with C. salei, while C. salei exhibited 94-97% identity with sequences from Central and South American conspecifics. The venom from C. chiapanensis exhibited toxic activity against crickets. Venoms from C. chiapanensis and C. salei caused death in Anastrepha obliqua flies. Analysis of venom fractions from C. salei and C. chiapanensis revealed molecular masses of a similar size as some previously reported toxins and neurotoxic components. We determined the amino acid sequences of ChiaTx1 and ChiaTx2, toxins that are reported here for the first time and which showed toxicity against mice and insects.
Conclusion: Our work is the first to report COI-based DNA barcoding sequences from southern Mexican Cupiennius spiders. Compounds with toxic activity were identified in venom from both species.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases (JVATiTD) is a non-commercial academic open access publication dedicated to research on all aspects of toxinology, venomous animals and tropical diseases. Its interdisciplinary content includes original scientific articles covering research on toxins derived from animals, plants and microorganisms. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:systematics and morphology of venomous animals;physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology and immunology of toxins;epidemiology, clinical aspects and treatment of envenoming by different animals, plants and microorganisms;development and evaluation of antivenoms and toxin-derivative products;epidemiology, clinical aspects and treatment of tropical diseases (caused by virus, bacteria, algae, fungi and parasites) including the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) defined by the World Health Organization.