Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Research Group Proteomics, CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Mol Ecol. 2018 Feb;27(4):1053-1064. doi: 10.1111/mec.14485. Epub 2018 Feb 8.
The arms race between specialist predators and their prey has resulted in the evolution of a variety of specific adaptations. In venomous predators, this can include venom composition, particularly if predators are specialized on dangerous prey. Here, we performed an integrative study using six species of highly specialized ant-eating spiders of the genus Zodarion to investigate their phylogeny, realized trophic niche, efficacy in the capture of various ant species and venom composition. Data on natural diet obtained by next-generation sequencing and field observations showed that the six Zodarion species exploit different ant species. Their phylogeny, based on mitochondrial and nuclear genes, correlated with the composition of their natural prey, indicating that closely related Zodarion species specialize on similar ant species. Prey-capture parameters differed among Zodarion species suggesting prey-specific efficacy. Similarly, the venom profiles of both low and high molecular compounds differed among species. Only the profiles of low molecular compounds were correlated with capture efficacy parameters, suggesting that the venom of Zodarion spiders contains prey-specific components. Our study suggests that Iberian Zodarion spiders are specialized on particular ant species.
专家级捕食者与其猎物之间的军备竞赛导致了各种特定适应性的进化。在有毒的捕食者中,如果捕食者专门捕食危险的猎物,这可能包括毒液成分。在这里,我们使用六种高度专业化的食蚁蜘蛛属 Zodarion 进行了综合研究,以调查它们的系统发育、实现的营养生态位、对各种蚂蚁物种的捕捉效果和毒液成分。通过下一代测序和实地观察获得的关于自然饮食的数据表明,这六种 Zodarion 物种利用不同的蚂蚁物种。基于线粒体和核基因的系统发育与它们自然猎物的组成相关,表明密切相关的 Zodarion 物种专门针对类似的蚂蚁物种。猎物捕捉参数在 Zodarion 物种之间存在差异,表明其对特定猎物具有特异性。同样,不同物种之间的低分子和高分子化合物的毒液特征也存在差异。只有低分子化合物的特征与捕获效果参数相关,表明 Zodarion 蜘蛛的毒液含有针对特定猎物的成分。我们的研究表明,伊比利亚 Zodarion 蜘蛛专门针对特定的蚂蚁物种。