Comprehensive analysis of peptides and low molecular weight components of the giant ant Dinoponera quadriceps venom
-
Gandhi Rádis-Baptista
, Hilania V. Dodou
, Álvaro R.B. Prieto-da-Silva , André J. Zaharenko , Kohei Kazuma , Ken-ichi Nihei , Hidetoshi Inagaki , Kanami Mori-Yasumoto und Katsuhiro Konno
Abstract
Ants (Hymenoptera, Apocrita, Aculeata, Formicoidea) comprise a well-succeeded group of animals. Like bees and wasps, ants are mostly venomous, having a sting system to deliver a mixture of bioactive organic compounds and peptides. The predatory giant ant Dinoponera quadriceps belongs to the subfamily Ponerinae that includes one of the largest known ant species in the world. In the present study, low molecular weight compounds and peptides were identified by online peptide mass fingerprint. These include neuroactive biogenic amines (histamine, tyramine, and dopamine), monoamine alkaloid (phenethylamine), free amino acids (e.g. glutamic acid and proline), free thymidine, and cytosine. To the best of our knowledge, most of these components are described for the first time in an ant venom. Multifunctional dinoponeratoxin peptide variants (pilosulin- and ponericin-like peptides) were characterized that possess antimicrobial, hemolytic, and histamine-releasing properties. These venom components, particularly peptides, might synergistically contribute to the overall venom activity and toxicity, for immobilizing live prey, and for defending D. quadriceps against aggressors, predators, and potential microbial infection.
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES, Toxinology Program), the Ministry of Education and Culture and the National Council of Research and Development, (CNPq), the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication (MCTI-C), Federal Government of Brazil, for the financial support and project endorsement.
Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Supplementary Material
The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/hsz-2019-0397).
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Artikel in diesem Heft
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- In memoriam Kanti D. Bhoola (1930–2019)
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Obituary
- In memoriam Kanti D. Bhoola (1930–2019)
- Reviews
- Septin architecture and function in budding yeast
- Small-molecule modulation of p53 protein-protein interactions
- EZH2 function in immune cell development
- Research Articles/Short Communications
- Protein Structure and Function
- Comprehensive analysis of peptides and low molecular weight components of the giant ant Dinoponera quadriceps venom
- Targeting of parvulin interactors by diazirine mediated cross-linking discloses a cellular role of human Par14/17 in actin polymerization
- Membranes, Lipids, Glycobiology
- Heat shock protein 60 is a disease-associated sialoglycoprotein in human non-small cell lung cancer
- Molecular Medicine
- Radiofrequency ablation triggers the migration of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by suppressing miR-148a-5p
- Cell biology and Signaling
- Volatilomes of Cyclocybe aegerita during different stages of monokaryotic and dikaryotic fruiting