| Australian funnel-web spiders: master insecticide chemists. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 15066416 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Arthropods are the most diverse animal group on the planet. Their ability to inhabit a vast array of ecological niches has inevitably brought them into conflict with humans. Although only a small minority are classified as pest species, they nevertheless destroy about a quarter of the world's annual crop production and transmit an impressive array of pathogens of human and veterinary public health importance. Arthropod pests have been controlled almost exclusively with chemical insecticides since the introduction of DDT in the 1940s. However, the evolution of resistance to many insecticides, coupled with increased awareness of the potential environmental and human and animal health impacts of these chemicals, has stimulated the search for new insecticidal compounds, novel molecular targets, and alternative control methods. Spider venoms are complex chemical cocktails that have evolved to kill or paralyze arthropod prey, and they represent a largely untapped reservoir of insecticidal compounds. This review focuses on several families of invertebrate-specific peptide neurotoxins that were isolated from the venom of Australian funnel-web spiders. These peptides are promising insecticide leads because of their selectivity for invertebrates and activity on previously unvalidated targets. These toxins should facilitate the development of novel target-based screens for new insecticide leads, while their mapped pharmacophores will provide templates for rational design of mimetics that act at these target sites. Furthermore, genes encoding these toxins can be used to improve the efficacy of insect-specific viruses. |
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Authors:
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Hugo W Tedford; Brianna L Sollod; Francesco Maggio; Glenn F King |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.; Review |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology Volume: 43 ISSN: 0041-0101 ISO Abbreviation: Toxicon Publication Date: 2004 Apr |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2004-04-06 Completed Date: 2004-06-21 Revised Date: 2006-11-15 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 1307333 Medline TA: Toxicon Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 601-18 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of Molecular, Microbial, and Structural Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06032-3305, USA. |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Amino Acid Sequence Animals Australia Evolution, Molecular Insecticides / chemistry* Models, Molecular* Molecular Sequence Data Neurotoxins / chemistry, toxicity* Peptides Pest Control Protein Conformation Signal Transduction / physiology Spider Venoms / chemistry* Spiders / chemistry* |
| Chemical | |
Reg. No./Substance:
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0/Insecticides; 0/Neurotoxins; 0/Peptides; 0/Spider Venoms |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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