Venomics of the Central European Myrmicine Ants Myrmica rubra and Myrmica ruginodis

We applied a venomics workflow based on proteotranscriptomics and found that the venoms of both species are composed of several protein classes, including venom serine proteases, cysteine-rich secretory protein, antigen 5 and pathogenesis-related 1 (CAP) superfamily proteins, Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitors and venom acid phosphatases. Several of these protein classes are known venom allergens, and for the first time we detected phospholipase A1 in the venom of M. ruginodis. We also identified two novel epidermal growth factor (EGF) family toxins in the M. ruginodis venom proteome and an array of additional EGF-like toxins in the venom gland transcriptomes of both species. These are similar to known toxins from the related myrmicine ant, Manica rubida, and the myrmecine (subfamily Myrmeciinae) Australian red bulldog ant Myrmecia gullosa, and are possibly deployed as weapons in defensive scenarios or to subdue prey.

我们采用了基于蛋白质转录组学（proteotranscriptomics）的毒液组学（venomics）研究流程，发现两种受试物种的毒液均由多种蛋白质类群构成，包括毒液丝氨酸蛋白酶（venom serine proteases）、富含半胱氨酸分泌蛋白（cysteine-rich secretory protein）、抗原5（antigen 5）以及病程相关蛋白1（pathogenesis-related 1）等CAP超家族蛋白，Kunitz型丝氨酸蛋白酶抑制剂（Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitors）和毒液酸性磷酸酶（venom acid phosphatases）。上述蛋白质类群中有多种为已知的毒液过敏原，且我们首次在红褐红蚁（M. ruginodis）的毒液中检测到了磷脂酶A1（phospholipase A1）。我们还在红褐红蚁的毒液蛋白质组中发现了两种全新的表皮生长因子（EGF）家族毒素，并在两种物种的毒腺转录组（venom gland transcriptomes）中鉴定出一系列额外的表皮生长因子样毒素（EGF-like toxins）。这些毒素与近缘切叶蚁亚科蚂蚁红曼蚁（Manica rubida）以及隶属于斗牛犬蚁亚科（Myrmeciinae）的澳大利亚红斗牛犬蚁（Myrmecia gullosa）中的已知毒素结构相似，推测其可作为防御武器或用于制服猎物。