Analysis of eight spider venom glands using Raman spectroscopy

Spider venom has high research value for use as an insecticide and drug, but its extraction is expensive and complicated. In this paper, Raman microspectroscopy was used to determine the secondary structure of the proteins, which are the active ingredients in venoms, and the venoms were obtained from eight spiders: Hippasa lycosina, Lycosa grahami, Lycosa wangi, Lycosa yunnanensis, Heteropoda venatoria, Psechrus ghecuanus, Macrothele yani and Macrothele yunnanica. The results indicate that venom glands are the preferred substitute for venom for research. Second, the eight glands have similar strongest Raman peaks, but there are partial differences in the weaker peaks and relative intensity ratios, and the differences can give a preliminary classification for the eight spiders. Third, Raman spectroscopy is an effective method with good repeatability and stability to study spider venom glands.(c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ )

Automated summary

In this study, Raman microspectroscopy was used to analyze the secondary structure of proteins in spider venom. The venom glands were found to be a preferable alternative for venom research. By analyzing the Raman peaks and relative intensity ratios, the eight spider species could be preliminarily classified. Raman spectroscopy proved to be an effective and reliable method for studying spider venom glands.