according to uproxx
A Virus Is Stealing The Black Widow's Genes To Create Its Own Venom
A Virus Is Stealing The Black Widow's Genes To Create Its Own Venom
The bite of the Black Widow spider is widely feared, and for excellent reason.A black widow's venom contains latrotoxin, which can cause muscle rigidity, pain, and vomiting.It's rarely fatal to humans, but it's not exactly a party, either.
furthermore scicasts
Scientists Discover Virus Carrying DNA of Black Widow Spider Toxin
Scientists Discover Virus Carrying DNA of Black Widow Spider Toxin
Nashville, TN (Scicasts) — A tiny virus that may sting like a black widow spider.That is one of the surprise discoveries made by a pair of Vanderbilt biologists when they sequenced the genome of a virus that attacks Wolbachia, a bacterial parasite that has successfully infected not only black widow spiders but more than half of all arthropod species, which include insects, spiders and crustaceans."Discovering DNA related to the black widow spider toxin gene came as a total surprise because it is the first time that a phage - a virus that infects bacteria - has been found carrying animal-like DNA," said Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Seth Bordenstein.
besides thescienceexplorer
The Case of the Virus That Stole Black Widow Spider DNA
The Case of the Virus That Stole Black Widow Spider DNA
Photo credit: www.pixabay.comStudy finds bacteriophage contains genes coding for a toxin found in spider venom.Wolbachia, a bacterium that specializes in infecting the cells of spiders and their relatives, has a viral infection.And the offending virus, called WO, appears to have stolen genes coding for a toxin found in black widow spider venom.
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