Department of Insect Symbiosis, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany.
Institute for Insect Biotechnology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.
Commun Biol. 2024 Aug 13;7(1):981. doi: 10.1038/s42003-024-06666-9.
Neuropteran larvae are fierce predators that use venom to attack and feed on arthropod prey. Neuropterans have adapted to diverse and sometimes extreme habitats, suggesting their venom may have evolved accordingly, but the ecology and evolution of venom deployment in different families is poorly understood. We applied spatial transcriptomics, proteomics, morphological analysis, and bioassays to investigate the venom systems in the antlion Euroleon nostras and the lacewing Chrysoperla carnea, which occupy distinct niches. Although the venom system morphology was similar in both species, we observed remarkable differences at the molecular level. E. nostras produces particularly complex venom secreted from three different glands, indicating functional compartmentalization. Furthermore, E. nostras venom and digestive tissues were devoid of bacteria, strongly suggesting that all venom proteins are of insect origin rather than the products of bacterial symbionts. We identified several toxins exclusive to E. nostras venom, including phospholipase A2 and several undescribed proteins with no homologs in the C. carnea genome. The compositional differences have significant ecological implications because only antlion venom conferred insecticidal activity, indicating its use for the immobilization of large prey. Our results indicate that molecular venom evolution plays a role in the adaptation of antlions to their unique ecological niche.
脉翅目幼虫是凶猛的捕食者,它们利用毒液攻击和捕食节肢动物猎物。脉翅目昆虫已经适应了多样化的、有时甚至是极端的栖息地,这表明它们的毒液可能相应地进化了,但是不同科的毒液的生态和进化仍知之甚少。我们应用空间转录组学、蛋白质组学、形态分析和生物测定来研究在占据不同生态位的噬蝽科的草蛉和草蛉的毒液系统。尽管两种物种的毒液系统形态相似,但我们在分子水平上观察到了显著的差异。E. nostras 产生的毒液特别复杂,由三种不同的腺体分泌,表明存在功能分区。此外,E. nostras 的毒液和消化组织中没有细菌,这强烈表明所有的毒液蛋白都是昆虫来源的,而不是细菌共生体的产物。我们鉴定了几种仅存在于 E. nostras 毒液中的毒素,包括磷脂酶 A2 和几种在 C. carnea 基因组中没有同源物的未描述蛋白。组成上的差异具有重要的生态意义,因为只有噬蝽科的毒液具有杀虫活性,表明其用于固定大型猎物。我们的结果表明,分子毒液进化在噬蝽适应其独特的生态位中起作用。