Spider toxin research
This study presents the first comprehensive analysis of Macrothele washanensis venom using transcriptomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics. A total of 147.5 million Illumina reads were obtained, assembling 3.01 million unigenes and predicting 69 putative toxins classified into 25 superfamilies. Proteomic analysis identified 43 toxin proteins, including 15 peptide toxins and 28 proteases, such as CAP proteins, acetylcholinesterase, metalloproteinases, hyaluronidase, and dermonecrotic toxin. These findings provide insights into the venom composition and lay the foundation for future research on its molecular functions and biomedical applications.