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  • Title: Identification and characterization of toxins in the venom gland of the Chinese bird spider, Haplopelma hainanum, by transcriptomic analysis.
    Author: Cheng TC, Long RW, Wu YQ, Guo YB, Liu DL, Peng L, Li DQ, Yang DW, Xu X, Liu FX, Xia QY.
    Journal: Insect Sci; 2016 Jun; 23(3):487-99. PubMed ID: 26678257.
    Abstract:
    Tarantula venoms provide a model system for studying toxin selectivity, structure-activity relationships and molecular evolution of peptide toxins. Previous studies have identified a large number of peptide toxins in the venom of the Chinese bird spider Haplopelma hainanum, generally regarded as a highly venomous spider. However, the lack of available RNA-seq transcriptomic and genomic data is an obstacle to understanding its venom at the molecular level. In this study, we investigated the venom gland transcriptome of H. hainanum by RNA-seq, in the absence of an available genomic sequence. We identified 201 potential toxins among 57 181 de novo assembled transcripts, including knottins, Kunitz-type toxins, enzymes and other proteins. We systematically identified most of the knottins and Kunitz-type toxins, some of which showed strongly biased expression in the venom gland, including members of the huwentoxin-1, huwentoxin-2 and magi-1 families. We also discovered several novel potential toxins. These data demonstrate the high molecular and structural diversity in the venom toxins of H. hainanum. This study offers a useful strategy for exploring the complex components of spider venoms.
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