Glyphosate-Based Herbicide Has Contrasting Effects on Prey Capture by Two Co-Occurring Wolf Spider Species

Spider venoms represent an original source of novel compounds with therapeutic and agrochemical potential. Whereas most of the research efforts have focused on large mygalomorph spiders, araneomorph spiders are equally promising but require more sensitive and sophisticated approaches given their limited size and reduced venom yield. Belonging to the latter group, the genus Lycosa (“wolf spiders”) contains many species widely distributed throughout the world. These spiders are ambush predators that do not build webs but instead rely strongly on their venom for prey capture. Lycosa tarantula is one of the largest species of wolf spider, but its venom composition is unknown. Using a combination of RNA sequencing of the venom glands and venom proteomics, we provide the first overview of the peptides and proteins produced by this iconic Mediterranean spider. Beside the typical small disulfide rich neurotoxins, several families of proteins were also identified, including cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRISP) and Hyaluronidases. Proteomic analysis of the electrically stimulated venom validated 30 of these transcriptomic sequences, including nine putative neurotoxins and eight venom proteins. Interestingly, LC-MS venom profiles of manual versus electric stimulation, as well as female versus male, showed some marked differences in mass distribution. Finally, we also present some preliminary data on the biological activity of L. tarantula crude venom.

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Multiple feeding in wolf spiders: the effect of starvation on handling time, ingestion rate, and intercatch intervals in Lycosa lapidosa (Araneae : Lycosidae)

Australian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1071/zo99057 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 59 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

V. W. Framenau ◽

L. A. Finley ◽

K. Allan ◽

M. Love ◽

D. Shirley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prey Capture ◽

Ingestion Rate ◽

Capture Rate ◽

Wolf Spider ◽

Handling Time ◽

Wolf Spiders ◽

Feeding Regimes ◽

Acheta Domestica ◽

Multiple Feeding ◽

Prey Items

Multiple prey capture, the behaviour of a predator attacking prey whilst handling a previously caught item, occurs in a variety of spiders that do not build webs. The effects of recent feeding history on the frequency of multiple prey attacks, handling time, ingestion rate, and intercatch intervals were examined experimentally in the wolf spider Lycosa lapidosa McKay. Juvenile spiders were subjected to two different feeding regimes (starvation for 14 and 28 days) and then provided with two different prey types (blowflies, Lucilia cuprina, and crickets, Acheta domestica). These two starvation levels or prey types had little effect on the frequency (75%) of multiple prey attacks. Spiders ingested approximately half the weight of any captured prey, regardless of how many prey items they attacked. At the same time, the handling time per prey item decreased with an increasing number of prey attacked. This indicates a more efficient ingestion rate when more prey are consumed. While the attacking time for the first prey was the same for all treatments, the first intercatch interval was longer for spiders that were starved longer. Chronically starved L. lapidosa appear to secure a previously caught item rather than optimise their capture rate by attacking further available prey.

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Dome-shaped functional response induced by nutrient imbalance of the prey

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2011.0103 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 517-520 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Berith B. Bressendorff ◽

Søren Toft

Keyword(s):

Functional Response ◽

Prey Capture ◽

Wolf Spider ◽

Nutritional Composition ◽

Laboratory System ◽

Functional Responses ◽

High Lipid ◽

Consumption Rates ◽

The Difference ◽

Reproductive Females

Nutritional ecological theory predicts that predators should adjust prey capture and consumption rates depending on the prey's nutritional composition. This would affect the predator's functional response, at least at high prey densities, i.e. near predator satiation. Using a simple fruitfly-wolf spider laboratory system in Petri dishes, we found that functional responses changed from day to day over a 7 day period. After 1 to 2 days of feeding, dome-shaped functional responses (i.e. reduced predation at highest prey densities) appeared in spiders fed nutritionally imbalanced prey, compared with steadily increasing or asymptotic functional responses with nutritionally near-optimal prey. Later again (days 5–7), the difference disappeared as the level of the functional response was reduced in both treatments. Experiments with adult females in spring and subadult spiders in autumn revealed opposite patterns: a dome-shaped response with high-lipid prey for reproductive females, for which protein-rich prey are optimal, and a dome-shaped (or simply reduced) response with high-protein prey for pre-winter subadults, for which high-lipid flies are the optimal prey. Our results have implications for predation theory and models of biological control that have, so far, neglected nutritional aspects; in particular, the dynamic nutritional state of the predators should be incorporated.

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Genome sequencing and neurotoxin diversity of a wandering spider Pardosa pseudoannulata (pond wolf spider)

10.1101/747147 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Na Yu ◽

Jingjing Li ◽

Meng Liu ◽

Lixin Huang ◽

Haibo Bao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pest Control ◽

Potential Role ◽

Insect Pests ◽

Wolf Spider ◽

Spider Species ◽

Pardosa Pseudoannulata ◽

Genome Data ◽

Silk Glands ◽

Important Predator ◽

High Quality Genome

AbstractSpiders constitute an extensive and diverse branch of the phylum Arthropoda. Whereas the genomes of four web-weaver spider species and a single cave-living spider have been determined, similar studies have not been reported previously for a wandering spider. The pond wolf spider, Pardosa pseudoannulata, is a wandering hunter that immobilizes prey using venom rather than a web. It is also an important predator against a range of agriculturally important insect pests. The increasing interest in its wandering lifestyle and in the potential of spider venom as a tool for pest control have prompted a detailed study on this wandering spider species. We have generated a high-quality genome sequence of P. pseudoannulata and analysed genes associated with the production of silk and venom toxins. Sequencing reveals that P. pseudoannulata has a large genome of 4.26 Gb. The presence of only 16 spidroin genes and four types of silk glands is consistent with the moderate use of silk and the lack of a prey-catching web. A large number of genes encode neurotoxins and there is evidence that the majority are highly selective for invertebrates. Comparison between spider species reveals a correlation between spider neurotoxin selectivity for target organisms and spider prosoma size, suggesting a possible coevolution of these two features. The genome data provides valuable insights into the biology of P. pseudoannulata and its potential role as a natural enemy in pest control.

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The wolf spider species from Peru and Bolivia described by Embrik Strand in 1908 (Araneae: Lycosidae: Lycosinae, Sosippinae, Allocosinae)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.3037.1.5 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 3037 (1) ◽

pp. 51

Author(s):

ANTONIO D. BRESCOVIT ◽

ÉDER S. S. ÁLVARES

Keyword(s):

New Records ◽

Wolf Spider ◽

Type Specimens ◽

Spider Species ◽

First Time

Five Lycosidae species from Peru and Bolivia described by Embrik Strand in 1908 are redescribed based on type specimens deposited in the Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden and the Naturmuseum Senckenberg, Frankfurt. Hogna subaustralis (Strand) and H. yauliensis (Strand) remain in the genus Hogna and the male of H. subaustralis is described for the first time. Hogna rufimanoides (Strand) comb. nov., Hipasella arapensis (Strand) comb. nov. and Allocosa yurae (Strand) comb. nov. have all been transferred to other genera. New records from Peru were provided for all species.

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A new wolf spider species in the genus Alopecosa Simon, 1885 (Araneae: Lycosidae) from Eastern Europe

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.3484.1.6 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 3484 (1) ◽

pp. 83

Author(s):

ANTON A. NADOLNY ◽

ALEXANDR V. PONOMAREV ◽

KONSTANTIN V. DVADNENKO

Keyword(s):

Czech Republic ◽

North America ◽

Type Species ◽

Wolf Spider ◽

Taxonomic Structure ◽

Palaearctic Species ◽

Spider Species ◽

Western Kazakhstan ◽

Species Groups ◽

Year 2000

The wolf spider genus Alopecosa Simon, 1885, contains 160 named species (Platnick 2012) and the type species of the genus is A. fabrilis (Clerck, 1757), which is a Palaearctic species like most species in the genus (Platnick 2012). The taxonomic structure of the genus has been studied in two revisions; Lugetti & Tongiorgi (1969) divided 24 species of European Alopecosa into five species groups and Dondale & Redner (1979) divided seven species from North America into three groups. Many species currently in Alopecosa do not appear to be related to the type species; hence the genus is polyphyletic and should be divided into several genera (Marusik & Kovblyuk 2011). Faunistic revisions of Alopecosa have been produced for Italy (Lugetti & Tongiorgi 1969), Romania (Fuhn & Niculescu-Burlacu 1971), North America (Dondale & Redner 1979), China (Song et al. 1999) and Sweden (Almquist 2005). In the Ukraine and European Russia, 18 and 22 species have been reported, respectively (Mikhailov 1997, 2000). Twenty species of Alopecosa have been described since the year 2000 (Platnick 2012), including one from Central Europe (Czech Republic and Slovakia) (Buchar 2001), one from Greece (Buchar 2001), one from Southwestern Russia and six species from Western Kazakhstan (Ponomarev 2007, 2008, 2009).

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Species of Wadicosa (Araneae, Lycosidae): a new species close to W. quadrifera (Gravely) from the Western Ghats, India

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4300.2.11 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4300 (2) ◽

pp. 295

Author(s):

TORBJÖRN KRONESTEDT

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Wolf Spider ◽

Species Specificity ◽

Southern India ◽

Widespread Species ◽

Spider Species ◽

The Western Ghats ◽

A New Species

The wolf spider species Wadicosa ghatica sp. nov. is described on material of both sexes from the states of Karnataka and Kerala in India. The species is morphologically close to W. quadrifera (Gravely, 1924), a widespread species from Sri Lanka and southern India. For comparison, the copulatory organs of both species are illustrated in detail. The males of both species are characterized by a corkscrew-like embolus which exhibits species-specificity in details of configuration. The embolus shape is unique to these two species.

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The sublethal effects of neonicotinoids on spiders are independent of their nutritional status

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-87935-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Milan Řezáč ◽

Nela Gloríková ◽

Shawn M. Wilder ◽

Petr Heneberg

Keyword(s):

Protein Content ◽

Carapace Length ◽

Sublethal Effects ◽

Wolf Spider ◽

Acute Exposure ◽

Spider Species ◽

Neonicotinoid Insecticides ◽

Behavioral Parameters ◽

Dietary Treatments ◽

Broad Scale

AbstractSpiders were recently shown to be adversely affected by field-realistic concentrations of a broad scale of neonicotinoid insecticides. Among the reported effects of neonicotinoids on invertebrates were declines in lipid biosynthesis and upregulation of β-oxidation, while vertebrate models suggest increased adipogenesis following treatment with neonicotinoids. Therefore, we hypothesized that there exists synergy between the effects of diet and concurrent exposure to field-realistic concentrations of neonicotinoid insecticides. To address this hypothesis, we fed first instars of the large wolf spider Hogna antelucana with two types of diets and exposed them to field-realistic concentrations of three formulations of neonicotinoids (thiamethoxam, thiacloprid and acetamiprid). We then measured the growth of the tested spiders; the lipid and protein content of their bodies; and their behavior, including ballooning, rappelling, and locomotor parameters. The two tested diets consisted of casein-treated and sucrose-treated Drosophila melanogaster. The dietary treatments affected the lipid and protein content of the spiders, their body weight and carapace length but did not affect any of the measured behavioral parameters. Surprisingly, we did not find any effects of acute exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides on the lipid or protein reserves of spiders. Exposure to neonicotinoids altered the behavior of the spiders as reported previously in other spider species; however, these effects were not affected by dietary treatments. Overall, the dietary treatments did not have any major synergy with acute exposure to field-realistic concentrations of neonicotinoid insecticides.

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