UNAM
Revista Digital Universitaria
Revista Digital Universitaria ISSN: 1607 - 6079 | Publicación mensual | 1 de noviembre de 2014 vol.15, No.11

ABSTRACT

The arachnids poisons: their outstanding insecticide strength and their unusual antibiotic capacity



Alexis Joavany Rodríguez Solís, Elba C. Villegas Villarreal y Gerardo A. Corzo Burguete


The aranae (spiders) and the scorpiones (scorpions) orders are of great scientific interest because they comprise animals able to produce venom, which is used to defend themselves from predators, and at the same time, it is an indispensable device to capture their preys. The venom of scorpions and spiders is a complex mixture of different chemical and proteic components, among them the toxins affect ionic channels, and the antibiotic peptides are disrupt cell membranes. It has been observed that within the venom of arachnids exist peptide toxins, which are lethal for insects; for this reason, these toxins have been proposed as alternative insecticides to control crop pests and insect disease vectors. The presence of peptides with antibiotic activities in the venom has been reported in the venom of several arachnid species. These peptides create pores in bacterial membranes; that is, the mode of action is different respect to that of the commercial antibiotics. For this reason the antibiotic peptides from arachnids are of interest for the treatment of bacterial infections, especially for those caused by multidrug resistant strains. In this communication the potential of the arachnid venoms as source of insecticidal toxins and antibiotic peptides is addressed.



Keywords: arachnids, insecticidal toxins, antimicrobial peptides, pest insects, multidrug resistant bacteria.