Properties of the Venom from the South American ‘‘Armed'’ Spider Phoneutria Nigriventer (Keyserling, 1891)

Abstract

The venomous glands of the South American spider Phoneutria nigriventer produce a complex mixture of basic neurotoxic polypeptides ranging in size from 2–16 KDa. Using semiquantitative bioassays combined with a sequence of FPLC and HPLC chromatographic steps we were able to purify more than 25 neurotoxic protein components from this venom, distinct in their chemical and pharmacological properties. The primary sequences of nine of these proteins have been solved. Alignment at the cysteine residues of P. nigriventer neurotoxins with published sequences of neurotoxic proteins from different spider species and other living organisms shows structural similarities, particularly evident in the distribution and location of these residues.