Latrophilin is required for toxicity of black widow spider venom in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Black widow spider venom (BWSV) kills Caenorhabditis elegans after injection owing to the presence of heat- and detergent-sensitive components, which are high-molecular-mass latrotoxins. A C. elegans homologue of latrophilin/CIRL (calcium-independent receptor for latrotoxin), B0457.1, was identified and shown to have five conserved domains. RNAi (RNA interference) of this gene rendered C. elegans resistant to BWSV, whereas RNAi for CYP37A1 or a neurexin I homologue, and a deletion mutant of the related B0286.2 gene, had no effect on BWSV toxicity. The latrophilin RNAi mutants exhibit changes in defaecation cycle and alterations in drug sensitivity. These results demonstrate that latrophilin mediates the toxicity of BWSV and provide evidence for a physiological function of this receptor.
School of Biology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK.
Christopher J
CJ
Mee
Simon R
SR
Tomlinson
Pavel V
PV
Perestenko
David
D
De Pomerai
Ian R
IR
Duce
Peter N R
PN
Usherwood
David R
DR
Bell
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D034622:RNA Interference; D018000:Receptors, Peptide / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D013111:Spider Venoms / Q000633:toxicity*
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D018000:Receptors, Peptide; D013111:Spider Venoms; C034800:alpha-latrotoxin receptor; C483879:lat-1 protein, C elegans; C038599:black widow spider venom