The assassin bug Pristhesancus plagipennis produces two distinct venoms in separate gland lumens

Andrew A. Walker; Mark L. Mayhew; Jiayi Jin; Volker Herzig; Eivind A. B. Undheim; Andy Sombke; Bryan G. Fry; David J. Meritt; Glenn F. King

doi:10.1038/s41467-018-03091-5

Nature Communications (Feb 2018)

The assassin bug Pristhesancus plagipennis produces two distinct venoms in separate gland lumens

Andrew A. Walker,
Mark L. Mayhew,
Jiayi Jin,
Volker Herzig,
Eivind A. B. Undheim,
Andy Sombke,
Bryan G. Fry,
David J. Meritt,
Glenn F. King

Affiliations

Andrew A. Walker: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland
Mark L. Mayhew: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland
Jiayi Jin: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland
Volker Herzig: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland
Eivind A. B. Undheim: Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland
Andy Sombke: Zoological Institute and Museum, Cytology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Greifswald
Bryan G. Fry: Venom Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland
David J. Meritt: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland
Glenn F. King: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03091-5
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 9, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

Read online

Venom can be used both offensively for prey capture and defensively to deter predators. Here, Walker and colleagues demonstrate that the assassin bug Pristhesancus plagipennis has two distinct venom glands that produce venoms with distinct compositions that can be elicited by different stimuli.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

About the journal