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Spider Venoms pp 1–20Cite as

Structural Diversity and Basic/Acidic Residue Balance of Active Cysteine-Rich Insecticidal Peptides from Spiders

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Part of the book series: Toxinology ((TOXI))

Abstract

Among different cysteine-rich peptides produced by poisonous animals, the venom of spiders contains the most diverse cystine scaffolds with insecticidal activities but with a similar compact beta-sheet three-dimensional structure containing a significant amount of basic residues balanced with anionic ones, which could be substantial for both diffusion to the their cell target and binding to their protein receptors. The different cationic and anionic balance of the insecticidal spider peptides also suggests that other binding sites in the insect receptors could exist. Compared to the market and commercial pesticides, a minute selection of insect pests has been tested with the insecticidal spider toxins; however, they have shown strong activity against selected species of lepidopteran, dipteran, blattodean, and orthopteran with the inconvenience that the insecticidal peptides exert their lethal activity once injected into the hemolymph of insects. The knowledge on the precise targeting of insect receptors by robust ligands from spider venoms could be useful for understanding the molecular basis of toxin selectivity at the receptor level. This could also lead to the design of more effective and safer pesticides. This chapter addresses most of the insecticidal spider peptides already discovered with reported lethal or paralytic activity.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financed by grants from Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico (DGAPA-UNAM), grant number IN204415, and SEP-CONACyT, grant number 240616.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, UNAM, Avenue Universidad 2001, Postal 510-3, 62210, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

    Francia García, Ernesto Ortiz & Gerardo Corzo

  2. Laboratorio de Estructura-Función e Ingeniería de Proteínas, Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Avenue Universidad 2001, 62210, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

    Elba Villegas

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  1. Francia García
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  2. Elba Villegas
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  3. Ernesto Ortiz
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  4. Gerardo Corzo
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Correspondence to Gerardo Corzo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    P. Gopalakrishnakone

  2. Department of Molecular Medicine and Bio, National Autonomous University of Mexico The Biotechnology Institute, Cuernavaca, Mexico

    Gerardo A. Corzo

  3. Laboratory of Toxicology and Pharmacolog, University of Leuven Campus Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium

    Elia Diego-Garcia

  4. Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia Laboratório de Venenos e Toxinas Animais, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Maria Elena de Lima

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García, F., Villegas, E., Ortiz, E., Corzo, G. (2015). Structural Diversity and Basic/Acidic Residue Balance of Active Cysteine-Rich Insecticidal Peptides from Spiders. In: Gopalakrishnakone, P., Corzo, G., Diego-Garcia, E., de Lima, M. (eds) Spider Venoms. Toxinology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6646-4_2-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6646-4_2-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6646-4

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