Walker Andrew A
Institute for Molecular Bioscience and Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia; email:
Annu Rev Entomol. 2025 Jan;70(1):251-269. doi: 10.1146/annurev-ento-022924-014200. Epub 2024 Dec 19.
Animal venoms are a focus of research due to the hazards they represent and to their relationship to evolution and ecology, pharmacology, biodiscovery, and biotechnology. Venoms have evolved multiple times in Lepidoptera, mostly as defensive adaptations that protect the larval life stages. While venoms are always produced in structures derived from cuticle and setae, they are diverse in their composition and bioactivity, reflecting their multiple evolutionary origins. The most common result of envenomation by lepidopterans is pain and inflammation, but envenomation by some species causes fatal hemorrhagic syndromes or chronic inflammatory conditions in humans or veterinary pathologies such as equine amnionitis and fetal loss. The handful of lepidopteran venom toxins that have been characterized includes coagulotoxins from (Saturniidae) and pain-causing cecropin-like peptides from (Limacodidae). However, our knowledge of lepidopteran venoms remains comparatively poor, with further studies required to yield a clear picture of the evolution, composition, and function of venoms produced by Lepidoptera.
动物毒液因其所带来的危害以及它们与进化、生态、药理学、生物发现和生物技术的关系而成为研究重点。毒液在鳞翅目中已经多次进化，主要作为保护幼虫生命阶段的防御适应机制。虽然毒液总是在源自表皮和刚毛的结构中产生，但其成分和生物活性各不相同，这反映了它们的多种进化起源。鳞翅目昆虫蜇伤最常见的结果是疼痛和炎症，但某些物种的蜇伤会导致人类致命的出血综合征或慢性炎症，或引发兽医病理学问题，如马羊膜炎和胎儿死亡。少数已被鉴定的鳞翅目毒液毒素包括天蚕蛾科的凝血毒素和刺蛾科的引起疼痛的杀菌肽样肽。然而，我们对鳞翅目毒液的了解仍然相对较少，需要进一步研究才能清楚了解鳞翅目产生的毒液的进化、成分和功能。
