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Biology
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Insect Venoms: Molecular Diversity, Evolution and Function
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Insect Venoms: Molecular Diversity, Evolution and Function

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Zoology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 4133

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Jiaying Zhu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Biodiversity Conservation, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
Interests: insect venom gene evolution and function; pest biological control; functional genomics; chemical ecology
Dr. Zhichao Yan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Interests: insect venoms; trichogramma; forest pest control

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Venoms have evolved independently many times among insects. They adopt venoms to capture prey, deter predators, ensure successful parasitism, protect against pathogens, or facilitate extraoral digestion. About 16% of insect families belonging to Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Heteroptera, Neuroptera, Coleoptera, and Diptera have evolved venoms, comprising the most species-rich lineages of venomous animals. Insect venoms have extraordinary diversity in their components, being recognized as promising resources for the discovery of bioactive molecules to be used as bioinsecticides and therapeutics. Across the Insecta class, venoms encompass extreme taxonomic and functional diversity, providing excellent model systems for studying the molecular and functional evolution of toxins. In comparison to venoms from other animals, such as snakes, scorpions, and spiders, venoms from insects are relatively unexplored. This Special Issue aims to expand the knowledge on insect venoms. It welcomes the submission of original research articles and reviews on any aspect of the molecular diversity, evolution, and function of insect venoms.

Prof. Dr. Jiaying Zhu
Dr. Zhichao Yan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • insect venoms
  • molecular diversity
  • evolution
  • toxins
  • insects

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 6588 KiB  
Article
Comparative Analysis of the Venom Proteins from Two Eupelmid Egg Parasitoids Anastatus japonicus and Mesocomys trabalae
by Qian-Yu Zhao, Xu Chen, Run-Zhi Wang, Yong-Ming Chen and Lian-Sheng Zang
Biology 2023, 12(5), 700; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12050700 - 10 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1671
Abstract
Parasitic wasps are abundant and diverse Hymenoptera insects that lay their eggs inside or on the external surface of the host and inject venom into the host to create a more favorable environment for the larvae to survive and regulate the host’s immunity, [...] Read more.
Parasitic wasps are abundant and diverse Hymenoptera insects that lay their eggs inside or on the external surface of the host and inject venom into the host to create a more favorable environment for the larvae to survive and regulate the host’s immunity, metabolism, and development. But research on the composition of egg parasitoid venom is very limited. In this study, we used a combination of transcriptomic and proteomic approaches to identify the protein fractions of the venom in both eupelmid egg parasitoids, Anastatus japonicus and Mesocomys trabalae. We identified 3422 up-regulated venom gland genes (UVGs) in M. trabalae and 3709 in A. japonicus and analyzed their functions comparatively. By proteome sequencing, we identified 956 potential venom proteins in the venom pouch of M. trabalae, of which 186 were contained in UVGs simultaneously. A total of 766 proteins were detected in the venom of A. japonicus, of which 128 venom proteins were highly expressed in the venom glands. At the same time, the functional analysis of these identified venom proteins was carried out separately. We found the venom proteins in M. trabalae are well known but not in A. japonicus, which may be related to the host range. In conclusion, identifying venom proteins in both egg parasitoid species provides a database for studying the function of egg parasitoid venom and its parasitic mechanism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insect Venoms: Molecular Diversity, Evolution and Function)
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17 pages, 5573 KiB  
Article
The Predatory Stink Bug Arma custos (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Produces a Complex Proteinaceous Venom to Overcome Caterpillar Prey
by Yuli Qu, Andrew A. Walker, Ling Meng, Volker Herzig and Baoping Li
Biology 2023, 12(5), 691; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12050691 - 9 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1929
Abstract
Predatory stink bugs capture prey by injecting salivary venom from their venom glands using specialized stylets. Understanding venom function has been impeded by a scarcity of knowledge of their venom composition. We therefore examined the proteinaceous components of the salivary venom of the [...] Read more.
Predatory stink bugs capture prey by injecting salivary venom from their venom glands using specialized stylets. Understanding venom function has been impeded by a scarcity of knowledge of their venom composition. We therefore examined the proteinaceous components of the salivary venom of the predatory stink bug Arma custos (Fabricius, 1794) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). We used gland extracts and venoms from fifth-instar nymphs or adult females to perform shotgun proteomics combined with venom gland transcriptomics. We found that the venom of A. custos comprised a complex suite of over a hundred individual proteins, including oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, ligases, protease inhibitors, and recognition, transport and binding proteins. Besides the uncharacterized proteins, hydrolases such as venom serine proteases, cathepsins, phospholipase A2, phosphatases, nucleases, alpha-amylases, and chitinases constitute the most abundant protein families. However, salivary proteins shared by and unique to other predatory heteropterans were not detected in the A. custos venom. Injection of the proteinaceous (>3 kDa) venom fraction of A. custos gland extracts or venom into its prey, the larvae of the oriental armyworm Mythimna separata (Walker, 1865), revealed insecticidal activity against lepidopterans. Our data expand the knowledge of heteropteran salivary proteins and suggest predatory asopine bugs as a novel source for bioinsecticides. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insect Venoms: Molecular Diversity, Evolution and Function)
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