Latrodectus elegans explained

Latrodectus elegans is a species of black widow spider,[1] [2] [3] [4] found in South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia. It was first collected by the Swedish arachnologist Tamerlan Thorell in the Karen Hills in Myanmar, but is also found in Thailand,[5] India, Nepal, Vietnam, China and Japan.[6], the World Spider Catalog lists only India, Nepal, Myanmar, China and Japan.[7] This species has been recorded in India and Nepal only since 2012, and Indochina in 2015,[8] which is thought to reflect historical under-surveying of arachnids in this region.[9]

In 2022 a chromosome-scale reference genome was sequenced from specimens from Yunnan, producing a 1.57 Gb sized genome with 14 chromosomes. Annotating this there were found to be 20,167 protein-coding genes, including 55 toxin and 26 spidroin (spider silk) genes.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Ushkaryov YA, Volynski KE, Ashton AC . The multiple actions of black widow spider toxins and their selective use in neurosecretion studies . Toxicon . 43 . 5 . 527–542 . April 2004 . 15066411 . 10.1016/j.toxicon.2004.02.008 .
  2. Sari I, Zengin S, Davutoglu V, Yildirim C, Gunay N . Myocarditis after black widow spider envenomation . The American Journal of Emergency Medicine . 26 . 5 . 630.e1–630.e3 . June 2008 . 18534303 . 10.1016/j.ajem.2007.09.012 .
  3. Web site: Latrodectus elegans Thorell, 1898. Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 14 October 2012.
  4. Web site: Latrodectus elegans Thorell, 1898. World Spider Catalog. American Museum of Natural History. 14 October 2012.
  5. Kananbala A, Manoj K, Bhubaneshwari M, Binarani A, Siliwal M . 2012. The first report of the widow spider Latrodectus elegans (Araneae: Theridiidae) from India. Journal of Threatened Taxa. 4. 7. 2718–22. 10.11609/jott.o3152.2718-22. free.
  6. Web site: Nieuwenhuys E . The demystification of the toxicity of spiders.
  7. Web site: Taxon details Latrodectus elegans Thorell, 1898 . World Spider Catalog . Natural History Museum Bern . 2022-07-30 .
  8. Košulič O, Mašová S . Programme & Abstracts - 29th European Congress of Arachnology. . 2015 . First record of the widow spider Latrodectus elegans Thorell, 1898 (Araneae, Theridiidae) from Indochina . en.
  9. Shrestha B, Dörr T . 2020-07-26 . First records of the black widow spider Latrodectus elegans Thorell, 1898 (Araneae: Theridiidae) from Nepal . Journal of Threatened Taxa . en . 12 . 10 . 16385–16388 . 10.11609/jott.5796.12.10.16385-16388 . 225493148 . 0974-7907. free .
  10. Wang Z, Zhu K, Li H, Gao L, Huang H, Ren Y, Xiang H . Chromosome-level genome assembly of the black widow spider Latrodectus elegans illuminates composition and evolution of venom and silk proteins . GigaScience . 11 . May 2022 . 35639632 . 9154082 . 10.1093/gigascience/giac049 .

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