The impact of land use on non-native species incidence and number in local assemblages worldwide.

While the regional distribution of non-native species is increasingly well documented for some taxa, global analyses of non-native species in local assemblages are still missing. Here, we use a worldwide collection of assemblages from five taxa - ants, birds, mammals, spiders and vascular plants - to assess whether the incidence, frequency and proportions of naturalised non-native species depend on type and intensity of land use. In plants, assemblages of primary vegetation are least invaded. In the other taxa, primary vegetation is among the least invaded land-use types, but one or several other types have equally low levels of occurrence, frequency and proportions of non-native species. High land use intensity is associated with higher non-native incidence and frequency in primary vegetation, while intensity effects are inconsistent for other land-use types. These findings highlight the potential dual role of unused primary vegetation in preserving native biodiversity and in conferring resistance against biological invasions.

The World Spider Trait database: a centralized global open repository for curated data on spider traits.

Spiders are a highly diversified group of arthropods and play an important role in terrestrial ecosystems as ubiquitous predators, which makes them a suitable group to test a variety of eco-evolutionary hypotheses. For this purpose, knowledge of a diverse range of species traits is required. Until now, data on spider traits have been scattered across thousands of publications produced for over two centuries and written in diverse languages. To facilitate access to such data, we developed an online database for archiving and accessing spider traits at a global scale. The database has been designed to accommodate a great variety of traits (e.g. ecological, behavioural and morphological) measured at individual, species or higher taxonomic levels. Records are accompanied by extensive metadata (e.g. location and method). The database is curated by an expert team, regularly updated and open to any user. A future goal of the growing database is to include all published and unpublished data on spider traits provided by experts worldwide and to facilitate broad cross-taxon assays in functional ecology and comparative biology. Database URL:https://spidertraits.sci.muni.cz/.

Linear Peptides-A Combinatorial Innovation in the Venom of Some Modern Spiders.

In the venom of spiders, linear peptides (LPs), also called cytolytical or antimicrobial peptides, represent a largely neglected group of mostly membrane active substances that contribute in some spider species considerably to the killing power of spider venom. By next-generation sequencing venom gland transcriptome analysis, we investigated 48 spider species from 23 spider families and detected LPs in 20 species, belonging to five spider families (Ctenidae, Lycosidae, Oxyopidae, Pisauridae, and Zodariidae). The structural diversity is extraordinary high in some species: the lynx spider Oxyopes heterophthalmus contains 62 and the lycosid Pardosa palustris 60 different LPs. In total, we identified 524 linear peptide structures and some of them are in lycosids identical on amino acid level. LPs are mainly encoded in complex precursor structures in which, after the signal peptide and propeptide, 13 or more LPs (Hogna radiata) are connected by linkers. Besides Cupiennius species, also in Oxyopidae, posttranslational modifications of some precursor structures result in the formation of two-chain peptides. It is obvious that complex precursor structures represent a very suitable and fast method to produce a high number and a high diversity of bioactive LPs as economically as possible. At least in Lycosidae, Oxyopidae, and in the genus Cupiennius, LPs reach very high Transcripts Per Kilobase Million values, indicating functional importance within the envenomation process.

Using structured eradication feasibility assessment to prioritize the management of new and emerging invasive alien species in Europe.

Prioritizing the management of invasive alien species (IAS) is of global importance and within Europe integral to the EU IAS regulation. To prioritize management effectively, the risks posed by IAS need to be assessed, but so too does the feasibility of their management. While the risk of IAS to the EU has been assessed, the feasibility of management has not. We assessed the feasibility of eradicating 60 new (not yet established) and 35 emerging (established with limited distribution) species that pose a threat to the EU, as identified by horizon scanning. The assessment was carried out by 34 experts in invasion management from across Europe, applying the Non-Native Risk Management scheme to defined invasion scenarios and eradication strategies for each species, assessing the feasibility of eradication using seven key risk management criteria. Management priorities were identified by combining scores for risk (derived from horizon scanning) and feasibility of eradication. The results show eradication feasibility score and risk score were not correlated, indicating that risk management criteria evaluate different information than risk assessment. In all, 17 new species were identified as particularly high priorities for eradication should they establish in the future, whereas 14 emerging species were identified as priorities for eradication now. A number of species considered highest priority for eradication were terrestrial vertebrates, a group that has been the focus of a number of eradication attempts in Europe. However, eradication priorities also included a diverse range of other taxa (plants, invertebrates and fish) suggesting there is scope to broaden the taxonomic range of attempted eradication in Europe. We demonstrate that broad scale structured assessments of management feasibility can help prioritize IAS for management. Such frameworks are needed to support evidence-based decision-making.

Neurotoxin Merging: A Strategy Deployed by the Venom of the Spider Cupiennius salei to Potentiate Toxicity on Insects.

The venom of Cupiennius salei is composed of dozens of neurotoxins, with most of them supposed to act on ion channels. Some insecticidal monomeric neurotoxins contain an α-helical part besides their inhibitor cystine knot (ICK) motif (type 1). Other neurotoxins have, besides the ICK motif, an α-helical part of an open loop, resulting in a heterodimeric structure (type 2). Due to their low toxicity, it is difficult to understand the existence of type 2 peptides. Here, we show with the voltage clamp technique in oocytes of Xenopus laevis that a combined application of structural type 1 and type 2 neurotoxins has a much more pronounced cytolytic effect than each of the toxins alone. In biotests with Drosophila melanogaster, the combined effect of both neurotoxins was enhanced by 2 to 3 log units when compared to the components alone. Electrophysiological measurements of a type 2 peptide at 18 ion channel types, expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes, showed no effect. Microscale thermophoresis data indicate a monomeric/heterodimeric peptide complex formation, thus a direct interaction between type 1 and type 2 peptides, leading to cell death. In conclusion, peptide mergers between both neurotoxins are the main cause for the high cytolytic activity of Cupienniussalei venom.

Spider Venom: Components, Modes of Action, and Novel Strategies in Transcriptomic and Proteomic Analyses.

This review gives an overview on the development of research on spider venoms with a focus on structure and function of venom components and techniques of analysis. Major venom component groups are small molecular mass compounds, antimicrobial (also called cytolytic, or cationic) peptides (only in some spider families), cysteine-rich (neurotoxic) peptides, and enzymes and proteins. Cysteine-rich peptides are reviewed with respect to various structural motifs, their targets (ion channels, membrane receptors), nomenclature, and molecular binding. We further describe the latest findings concerning the maturation of antimicrobial, and cysteine-rich peptides that are in most known cases expressed as propeptide-containing precursors. Today, venom research, increasingly employs transcriptomic and mass spectrometric techniques. Pros and cons of venom gland transcriptome analysis with Sanger, 454, and Illumina sequencing are discussed and an overview on so far published transcriptome studies is given. In this respect, we also discuss the only recently described cross contamination arising from multiplexing in Illumina sequencing and its possible impacts on venom studies. High throughput mass spectrometric analysis of venom proteomes (bottom-up, top-down) are reviewed.

The Dual Prey-Inactivation Strategy of Spiders-In-Depth Venomic Analysis of Cupiennius salei.

Most knowledge of spider venom concerns neurotoxins acting on ion channels, whereas proteins and their significance for the envenomation process are neglected. The here presented comprehensive analysis of the venom gland transcriptome and proteome of Cupiennius salei focusses on proteins and cysteine-containing peptides and offers new insight into the structure and function of spider venom, here described as the dual prey-inactivation strategy. After venom injection, many enzymes and proteins, dominated by α-amylase, angiotensin-converting enzyme, and cysteine-rich secretory proteins, interact with main metabolic pathways, leading to a major disturbance of the cellular homeostasis. Hyaluronidase and cytolytic peptides destroy tissue and membranes, thus supporting the spread of other venom compounds. We detected 81 transcripts of neurotoxins from 13 peptide families, whereof two families comprise 93.7% of all cysteine-containing peptides. This raises the question of the importance of the other low-expressed peptide families. The identification of a venom gland-specific defensin-like peptide and an aga-toxin-like peptide in the hemocytes offers an important clue on the recruitment and neofunctionalization of body proteins and peptides as the origin of toxins.

How not to delimit taxa: a critique on a recently proposed "pragmatic classification" of jumping spiders (Arthropoda: Arachnida: Araneae: Salticidae).

Modern taxonomy and systematics profit from an invaluable tool that has been developed in the course of more than a century by intense discussions and negotiations of generations of zoologists and palaeontologists: The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN 1999, 2012). The main goal of the Code is "to promote stability and universality in the scientific names of animals and to ensure that the name of each taxon is unique and distinct" (Melville 1995, ICZN 1999: 2). The provisions of the Code are generally accepted and thoroughly applied by the scientific community. Exceptions, such as the one described below, are very rare.

Developing a list of invasive alien species likely to threaten biodiversity and ecosystems in the European Union.

The European Union (EU) has recently published its first list of invasive alien species (IAS) of EU concern to which current legislation must apply. The list comprises species known to pose great threats to biodiversity and needs to be maintained and updated. Horizon scanning is seen as critical to identify the most threatening potential IAS that do not yet occur in Europe to be subsequently risk assessed for future listing. Accordingly, we present a systematic consensus horizon scanning procedure to derive a ranked list of potential IAS likely to arrive, establish, spread and have an impact on biodiversity in the region over the next decade. The approach is unique in the continental scale examined, the breadth of taxonomic groups and environments considered, and the methods and data sources used. International experts were brought together to address five broad thematic groups of potential IAS. For each thematic group the experts first independently assembled lists of potential IAS not yet established in the EU but potentially threatening biodiversity if introduced. Experts were asked to score the species within their thematic group for their separate likelihoods of i) arrival, ii) establishment, iii) spread, and iv) magnitude of the potential negative impact on biodiversity within the EU. Experts then convened for a 2-day workshop applying consensus methods to compile a ranked list of potential IAS. From an initial working list of 329 species, a list of 66 species not yet established in the EU that were considered to be very high (8 species), high (40 species) or medium (18 species) risk species was derived. Here, we present these species highlighting the potential negative impacts and the most likely biogeographic regions to be affected by these potential IAS.

Global rise in emerging alien species results from increased accessibility of new source pools.

Our ability to predict the identity of future invasive alien species is largely based upon knowledge of prior invasion history. Emerging alien species-those never encountered as aliens before-therefore pose a significant challenge to biosecurity interventions worldwide. Understanding their temporal trends, origins, and the drivers of their spread is pivotal to improving prevention and risk assessment tools. Here, we use a database of 45,984 first records of 16,019 established alien species to investigate the temporal dynamics of occurrences of emerging alien species worldwide. Even after many centuries of invasions the rate of emergence of new alien species is still high: One-quarter of first records during 2000-2005 were of species that had not been previously recorded anywhere as alien, though with large variation across taxa. Model results show that the high proportion of emerging alien species cannot be solely explained by increases in well-known drivers such as the amount of imported commodities from historically important source regions. Instead, these dynamics reflect the incorporation of new regions into the pool of potential alien species, likely as a consequence of expanding trade networks and environmental change. This process compensates for the depletion of the historically important source species pool through successive invasions. We estimate that 1-16% of all species on Earth, depending on the taxonomic group, qualify as potential alien species. These results suggest that there remains a high proportion of emerging alien species we have yet to encounter, with future impacts that are difficult to predict.

Identification of a precursor processing protease from the spider Cupiennius salei essential for venom neurotoxin maturation.

Spider venom neurotoxins and cytolytic peptides are expressed as elongated precursor peptides, which are post-translationally processed by proteases to yield the active mature peptides. The recognition motifs for these processing proteases, first published more than 10 years ago, include the processing quadruplet motif (PQM) and the inverted processing quadruplet motif (iPQM). However, the identification of the relevant proteases was still pending. Here we describe the purification of a neurotoxin precursor processing protease from the venom of the spider Cupiennius salei The chymotrypsin-like serine protease is a 28-kDa heterodimer with optimum activity at venom's pH of 6.0. We designed multiple synthetic peptides mimicking the predicted cleavage sites of neurotoxin precursors. Using these peptides as substrates, we confirm the biochemical activity of the protease in propeptide removal from neurotoxin precursors by cleavage C-terminal of the PQM. Furthermore, the PQM protease also cleaves the iPQM relevant for heterodimerization of a subgroup of neurotoxins. An involvement in the maturing of cytolytic peptides is very likely, due to high similarity of present protease recognition motifs. Finally, bioinformatics analysis, identifying sequences of homolog proteins from 18 spiders of 9 families, demonstrate the wide distribution and importance of the isolated enzyme for spiders. In summary, we establish the first example of a PQM protease, essential for maturing of spider venom neurotoxins. In the future, the here described protease may be established as a powerful tool for production strategies of recombinant toxic peptides, adapted to the maturing of spider venom toxins.

Distribution and medical aspects of Loxosceles rufescens, one of the most invasive spiders of the world (Araneae: Sicariidae).

Loxosceles rufescens is a circum-Mediterranean spider species, potentially harmful to humans. Its native area covers the Mediterranean Basin and Near East. Easily spread with transported goods, it is meanwhile an alien and invasive species to nearly all other continents and many islands. This species occurs in semi-arid steppe-like habitats, typically under stones and in cavities, which enables it to settle inside buildings when invading the synanthropic environment. This review analyses the literature of L. rufescens bites to humans (38 publications) of which only 11 publications refer to 12 verified spider bites (11% of the reported bites). Two published allegedly deadly spider bites (Thailand 2014 and Italy 2016) involve non-verified spider bites and are thus not reliable. The symptoms and therapy of these 11 verified bites are described: only five cases showed moderate systemic effects, nine cases developed necrosis, four cases needed surgical debridement, all cases healed without complications within a few weeks. In conclusion, L. rufescens is a spider species globally spread by human activity, it rarely bites humans and the bites are less harmful than often described. There is no known fatal issue.

Peptidomic and transcriptomic profiling of four distinct spider venoms.

Venom based research is exploited to find novel candidates for the development of innovative pharmacological tools, drug candidates and new ingredients for cosmetic and agrochemical industries. Moreover, venomics, as a well-established approach in systems biology, helps to elucidate the genetic mechanisms of the production of such a great molecular biodiversity. Today the advances made in the proteomics, transcriptomics and bioinformatics fields, favor venomics, allowing the in depth study of complex matrices and the elucidation even of minor compounds present in minute biological samples. The present study illustrates a rapid and efficient method developed for the elucidation of venom composition based on NextGen mRNA sequencing of venom glands and LC-MS/MS venom proteome profiling. The analysis of the comprehensive data obtained was focused on cysteine rich peptide toxins from four spider species originating from phylogenetically distant families for comparison purposes. The studied species were Heteropoda davidbowie (Sparassidae), Poecilotheria formosa (Theraphosidae), Viridasius fasciatus (Viridasiidae) and Latrodectus mactans (Theridiidae). This led to a high resolution profiling of 284 characterized cysteine rich peptides, 111 of which belong to the Inhibitor Cysteine Knot (ICK) structural motif. The analysis of H. davidbowie venom revealed a high richness in term of venom diversity: 95 peptide sequences were identified; out of these, 32 peptides presented the ICK structural motif and could be classified in six distinct families. The profiling of P. formosa venom highlighted the presence of 126 peptide sequences, with 52 ICK toxins belonging to three structural distinct families. V. fasciatus venom was shown to contain 49 peptide sequences, out of which 22 presented the ICK structural motif and were attributed to five families. The venom of L. mactans, until now studied for its large neurotoxins (Latrotoxins), revealed the presence of 14 cysteine rich peptides, out of which five were ICK toxins belonging to the CSTX superfamily. This in depth profiling of distinct ICK peptide families identified across the four spider species highlighted the high conservation of these neurotoxins among spider families.

Combining morphology, DNA sequences, and morphometrics: revising closely related species in the orb-weaving spider genus Araniella (Araneae, Araneidae).

The integration of independent data sets could solve problems in both traditional and DNA-based taxonomy. The aim of this study is to investigate the power of CO1 sequences and of morphometrics to distinguish closely related species in the spider genus Araniella. We put special emphasis on the species pair A. cucurbitina (Clerck, 1757) and A. opisthographa (Kulczynski, 1905) since the females are morphologically difficult to distinguish and often misidentified. A total of 216 sequences of eight Araniella species from seven European countries, North America and Asia were included in the molecular analysis. The results from both maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic inference indicate successful separation of six out of eight Araniella species, including A. cucurbitina and A. opisthographa. For the same six species, we detect no overlap of intra- and interspecific genetic divergence, leading to successful species identification with a threshold approach. In addition, morphometric analysis of the epigyna of A. cucurbitina and A. opisthographa supports species separation by two best explanatory ratios: receptaculum length and distance between receptaculum and copulatory duct. Although a small overlap in the ratios exists, the species identification rate increases when combining morphometric and molecular data, which demonstrates the efficiency of integrative approaches for distinguishing closely related species. However, none of the molecular approaches was able to separate closely related A. alpica (L. Koch, 1869) and A. inconspicua (Simon, 1874) due to shared CO1 haplotypes. Considering the clear morphological separation of the males and different habitat preferences, incomplete lineage sorting or introgressive hybridization could have led to identical CO1 sequences. Therefore, DNA-barcoding must be thoroughly tested even within small homogenous genera of spiders.

The generic impact scoring system (GISS): a standardized tool to quantify the impacts of alien species.

Alien species can exert negative environmental and socio-economic impacts. Therefore, administrations from different sectors are trying to prevent further introductions, stop the spread of established species, and apply or develop programs to mitigate their impact, to contain the most harmful species, or to eradicate them if possible. Often it is not clear which of the numerous alien species are most important in terms of damage, and therefore, impact scoring systems have been developed to allow a comparison and thus prioritization of species. Here, we present the generic impact scoring system (GISS), which relies on published evidence of environmental and socio-economic impact of alien species. We developed a system of 12 impact categories, for environmental and socio-economic impact, comprising all kinds of impacts that an alien species may exert. In each category, the intensity of impact is quantified by a six-level scale ranging from 0 (no impact detectable) to 5 (the highest impact possible). Such an approach, where impacts are grouped based on mechanisms for environmental impacts and receiving sectors for socio-economy, allows for cross-taxa comparisons and prioritization of the most damaging species. The GISS is simple and transparent, can be conducted with limited funds, and can be applied to a large number of alien species across taxa and environments. Meanwhile, the system was applied to 349 alien animal and plant species. In a comparison with 22 other impact assessment methods, the combination of environmental and socio-economic impact, as well as the possibility of weighting and ranking of the scoring results make GISS the most broadly applicable system.

How informative are case studies of spider bites in the medical literature?

We analyzed the reliability and information content of 134 medical case studies on spider bites, published in 91 journal articles. Overall, we found that only 22% of these studies fulfilled the criteria for a verified spider bite. This means that the majority of such case studies cannot be attributed to a given spider species and usually not even to a spider. Their scientific value is negligible, moreover, such publications are even dangerous because they suggest incorrect conclusions. Secondly, we found that such case studies usually do not follow an obvious structure and many details on the development of symptoms, therapy and healing process are widely lacking. So even for verified spider bites, the comparability of case studies is limited. We discuss the obvious failure of a reviewing process for case studies and give recommendations how to increase the currently low information content of medical case studies on spider bites.

Isolation, N-glycosylations and Function of a Hyaluronidase-Like Enzyme from the Venom of the Spider Cupiennius salei.

STRUCTURE OF CUPIENNIUS SALEI VENOM HYALURONIDASE: Hyaluronidases are important venom components acting as spreading factor of toxic compounds. In several studies this spreading effect was tested on vertebrate tissue. However, data about the spreading activity on invertebrates, the main prey organisms of spiders, are lacking. Here, a hyaluronidase-like enzyme was isolated from the venom of the spider Cupiennius salei. The amino acid sequence of the enzyme was determined by cDNA analysis of the venom gland transcriptome and confirmed by protein analysis. Two complex N-linked glycans akin to honey bee hyaluronidase glycosylations, were identified by tandem mass spectrometry. A C-terminal EGF-like domain was identified in spider hyaluronidase using InterPro. The spider hyaluronidase-like enzyme showed maximal activity at acidic pH, between 40-60°C, and 0.2 M KCl. Divalent ions did not enhance HA degradation activity, indicating that they are not recruited for catalysis. FUNCTION OF VENOM HYALURONIDASES: Besides hyaluronan, the enzyme degrades chondroitin sulfate A, whereas heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate are not affected. The end products of hyaluronan degradation are tetramers, whereas chondroitin sulfate A is mainly degraded to hexamers. Identification of terminal N-acetylglucosamine or N-acetylgalactosamine at the reducing end of the oligomers identified the enzyme as an endo-ß-N-acetyl-D-hexosaminidase hydrolase. The spreading effect of the hyaluronidase-like enzyme on invertebrate tissue was studied by coinjection of the enzyme with the Cupiennius salei main neurotoxin CsTx-1 into Drosophila flies. The enzyme significantly enhances the neurotoxic activity of CsTx-1. Comparative substrate degradation tests with hyaluronan, chondroitin sulfate A, dermatan sulfate, and heparan sulfate with venoms from 39 spider species from 21 families identified some spider families (Atypidae, Eresidae, Araneidae and Nephilidae) without activity of hyaluronidase-like enzymes. This is interpreted as a loss of this enzyme and fits quite well the current phylogenetic idea on a more isolated position of these families and can perhaps be explained by specialized prey catching techniques.

The new Southeast Asian goblin spider genus Aposphragisma (Araneae, Oonopidae): diversity and phylogeny.

The new genus Aposphragisma (Araneae, Oonopidae, Oonopinae) comprising the new species A. baltenspergerae, A. borgulai, A. brunomanseri, A. confluens, A. dayak, A. dentatum, A. draconigenum, A. hausammannae, A. helvetiorum, A. kolleri, A. menzi, A. monoceros, A. nocturnum, A. retifer, A. rimba, A. salewskii, A. scimitar, A. sepilok and A. stannum is described. It is characterised by very hard bodied, strongly sclerotized species with completely armoured prosoma and strongly sclerotized ventral and dorsal abdominal scuta. Aposphragisma gen. nov. is placed within the Gamasomorpha-group sensu Saaristo (2001). Descriptions and illustrations are given for all new species. A phylogenetic analysis based on 40 characters using Prethopalpus fosuma, Gamasomorpha asterobothros, G. cataphracta, G. seximpressa, Xestaspis biflocci, X. kandy and X. paulina as outgroup-taxa and Cortestina thaleri (Oonopidae, Sulsulinae) as the root is presented and discussed. Furthermore it is shown that females of Aposphragisma gen. nov. possess complex internal genitalia. The members of the new genus are ground-dwelling litter inhabitants restricted to Southeast Asian lowland and montane forests, with more than 60% of the species only known from single localities. They are presumed to be negatively affected by the massive destruction of pristine forest habitats within their range. This work has been conducted within the framework of the Planetary Biodiversity Inventory (PBI) of Oonopidae (see http://research.amnh.org/oonopidae).