ArticleCellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS2018
Giant fish-killing water bug reveals ancient and dynamic venom evolution in Heteroptera.
Article in Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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22 citing papers in PubMed, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Multifunctional lysozymes from the assassin bug Sycanus bifidus: Insecticidal proteins with anticoagulant and melanization inhibition properties.Pest management science · 2026Article
- The venom-specific toxicity profiles of the mirid bug Tytthus chinensis to its prey insect Nilaparvata lugens.Pest management science · 2026Article
- Morphological and Ultrastructural Characterization of the Venom Apparatus of the Predatory Stink Bug,Insects · 2026Article
- Comprehensive Analysis of Cathepsin Genes in Hemiptera: Functional Characterization of the Venomous Cathepsin B fromInsects · 2025Article
- Venom exaptation and adaptation during the trophic switch to blood-feeding by kissing bugs.iScience · 2024Article
- The Predatory Stink BugBiology · 2023Article
- An Assassin's Secret: Multifunctional Cytotoxic Compounds in the Predation Venom of the Assassin BugToxins · 2023Article
- You are what you eat-ecological niche and microhabitat influence venom activity and composition in aquatic bugs.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2023Article
- Identification and functional analysis of serine protease inhibitor gene family ofFrontiers in physiology · 2023Article
- Transcriptome analysis reveals salivary gland-specific neuropeptide signaling genes in the predatory stink bug,Frontiers in physiology · 2023Article
- Venom composition and pain-causing toxins of the Australian great carpenter bee Xylocopa aruana.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Production, composition, and mode of action of the painful defensive venom produced by a limacodid caterpillar,Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2021Article
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Protein: Searching for Insecticidal Toxins in Venom of the Red Tiger Assassin Bug (Toxins · 2020Article
- Animal toxins - Nature's evolutionary-refined toolkit for basic research and drug discovery.Biochemical pharmacology · 2020Review
- Context-dependent venom deployment and protein composition in two assassin bugs.Ecology and evolution · 2020Article
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- Parallel Evolution of Complex Centipede Venoms Revealed by Comparative Proteotranscriptomic Analyses.Molecular biology and evolution · 2019Article
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- Natural Occurrence in Venomous Arthropods of Antimicrobial Peptides Active against Protozoan Parasites.Toxins · 2019Review
- Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
True Bugs (Insecta: Heteroptera) produce venom or saliva with diverse bioactivities depending on their feeding strategies. However, little is known about the molecular evolution of the venom toxins underlying these biological activities. We examined venom of the giant fish-killing water bug Lethocerus distinctifemur (Insecta: Belostomatidae) using infrared spectroscopy, transcriptomics, and proteomics. We report 132 venom proteins including putative enzymes, cytolytic toxins, and antimicrobial peptides. Over 73% (96 proteins) showed homology to venom proteins from assassin bugs (Reduviidae), including 21% (28 proteins from seven families) not known from other sources. These data suggest that numerous protein families were recruited into venom and diversified rapidly following the switch from phytophagy to predation by ancestral heteropterans, and then were retained over > 200 my of evolution. In contrast, trophic switches to blood-feeding (e.g. in Triatominae and Cimicidae) or reversions to plant-feeding (e.g., in Pentatomomorpha) were accompanied by rapid changes in the composition of venom/saliva, including the loss of many protein families.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.