Scorpion venom as a source of new antimicrobial agents

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  Scorpion venom as a source of new antimicrobial agents Abstract The escalating global threat of antimicrobial resistance necessitates urgent discovery of novel therapeutic agents. Scorpion venom, a complex cocktail of bioactive molecules, has emerged as a promising reservoir of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with potent activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens. This review comprehensively examines the structural and functional diversity of scorpion-derived AMPs and their therapeutic potential. Scorpion venom AMPs exhibit remarkable structural heterogeneity. Their physicochemical properties, characterized by cationic charge, amphipathicity, and α-helical or β-sheet conformations, underpin their antimicrobial efficacy. These peptides demonstrate broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity encompassing Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites. Mechanistically, scorpion AMPs employ multifaceted strategies including membrane disruption through pore format...

A baffling case of morphological, molecular and ecological discordance in Isometrus Ehrenberg, 1828 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) with the description of five new species from southern India

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A baffling case of morphological, molecular and ecological discordance in Isometrus Ehrenberg, 1828 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) with the description of five new species from southern India

Abstract

The Western and Eastern Ghats of the Peninsular India are known for their high biological diversity, which is shaped due to various geological barriers and environmental parameters. Scorpion diversity in Peninsular India remains poorly known thereby warranting a need to undertake rigorous arachnological surveys. In our continued effort to discover scorpion lineages hitherto unknown to science, we describe five new species of the genus Isometrus Ehrenberg, 1828 which were obtained from southern India, and discuss morphological, molecular and ecological discordance within this genus. The validity of Reddyanus atherii Amir and Kamaluddin, 2008, Isometrus liaqatii Amir and Kamaluddin, 2008 and Isometrus formosus Pocock, 1894 is also commented upon, with implications to propose taxonomic changes within the genus.

Shubhankar Deshpande, Gaurang Gowande, Nikhil Dandekar, Mihir Joshi, Deshabhushan Bastawade, Shauri Sulakhe, A baffling case of morphological, molecular and ecological discordance in Isometrus Ehrenberg, 1828 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) with the description of five new species from southern India, Zoologischer Anzeiger, 2023, ISSN 0044-5231,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcz.2023.11.001.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0044523123001055)