Antimicrobial, Insecticides, Analgesics, and Hyaluronidases from the Venom Glands of Brachypelma Spiders

Abstract

Mexico is a rich country in biological diversity; among them, the mygalomorph (also called the orthognatha) spider species of the genus Brachypelma contain in their poisonous glands a great variety of biomolecules that can have benefits in agriculture and medicine. Species of this genus have been studied at the Institute of Biotechnology (IBt-UNAM) and the Biotechnology Research Center (CeiB-UAEM) in Cuernavaca, Morelos, in order to detect venom components with biotechnological applications. This chapter addresses the advances of research on the venom components from species of the genus Brachypelma - B. smithi, B. albiceps, B. verdezi and B. vagans - which were chromatographically separated and biochemically analyzed, searching for antimicrobial, insecticidal, analgesic, and enzymatic activities. Although Brachypelma venoms contain similar types of molecules, their minor differences could be important for a gain in stability and function. The primary structures of the most relevant molecules found in those four species of Brachypelma are described and reported.