title: Identification and characterization of toxins in the venom gland of the Chinese bird spider, Haplopelma hainanum, by transcriptomic analysis.
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.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Ting-Cai
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Ren-Wen
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Qian
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: You-Bing
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Duo-Lian
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Dai-Qin
authors.initials: DQ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Dai-Wen
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.|College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Feng-Xiang
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Qing-You
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Xia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005088:Exocrine Glands / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D013111:Spider Venoms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D013112:Spiders / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; D013111:Spider Venoms
keywords: Haplopelma hainanum; diversity; tarantula venom; toxin; transcriptome