Ant venoms contain vertebrate-selective pain-causing sodium channel toxins

  • Nat Commun. 2023 May 23;14(1):2977. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-38839-1.
Samuel D Robinson  1 ,  Jennifer R Deuis  2 ,  Axel Touchard  3  4 ,  Angelo Keramidas  2 ,  Alexander Mueller  2 ,  Christina I Schroeder  2  5 ,  Valentine Barassé  4 ,  Andrew A Walker  2 ,  Nina Brinkwirth  6 ,  Sina Jami  2 ,  Elsa Bonnafé  4 ,  Michel Treilhou  4 ,  Eivind A B Undheim  2  7  8 ,  Justin O Schmidt  9  10 ,  Glenn F King  2  11 ,  Irina Vetter  12  13
Affiliations
  • 1. Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia. [email protected].
  • 2. Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
  • 3. CNRS, UMR Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (EcoFoG), Campus Agronomique; BP 316, 97379, Kourou, Cedex, France.
  • 4. Equipe BTSB-EA 7417, Université de Toulouse, Institut National Universitaire Jean-François Champollion; Place de Verdun, 81012, Albi, France.
  • 5. Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, 94080, CA, USA.
  • 6. Nanion Technologies, Munich, 80339, Germany.
  • 7. Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, The University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
  • 8. Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
  • 9. Southwestern Biological Institute, Tucson, AZ 85745, USA.
  • 10. Department of Entomology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
  • 11. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
  • 12. Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia. [email protected].
  • 13. School of Pharmacy, University of Queensland, Wooloongabba, QLD 4102, Australia. [email protected].
PMID: 37221205 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38839-1
Abstract

Stings of certain ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) can cause intense, long-lasting nociception. Here we show that the major contributors to these symptoms are venom peptides that modulate the activity of voltage-gated sodium (NaV) channels, reducing their voltage threshold for activation and inhibiting channel inactivation. These peptide toxins are likely vertebrate-selective, consistent with a primarily defensive function. They emerged early in the Formicidae lineage and may have been a pivotal factor in the expansion of ants.

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