Yoshida, N., K. Oeda, E. Watanabe, T. Mikami, Y. Fukita, K. Nishimura, K. Komai, and K. Matsuda. 2001. Chaperonin turned insect toxin. 2001. Nature. 6833: 44.

Ant-lions can capture their prey with deadly efficiency. The strategies they utilize include digging sand traps, shooting sand at escaping prey to knock them down, and the production of toxins which can paralyze their prey. How these toxins are produced has remained a mystery.

The family of Myrmeleontidae utilizes a variety of enzymes to digest their prey from the inside and then suck out the nutrient juices. Before they can do this however they must inject a toxin which paralyzes their prey.

In a study of the saliva of ant-lion larvae of species M. bore, an endosymbiotic bacteria, Enterobacter aerogenes was discovered. The bacteria Enterobacter aerogenes, was collected and cultured. The proteins from the saliva of the ant-lion and those produced by the cultured bacteria were analyzed using SDS-Page in order to isolate individual proteins. A single band matched both samples, leading to the discovery of a homologue of the protein GroEL. A purified extract of the GroEL protein was shown to rapidly kill cockroaches at a dosage of 2.7ng.

Yoshida et al. concluded that the toxicity of the saliva injected by ant-lions into its prey is reliant on its symbiosis with Enterobacter aerogenes. The bacteria are harbored in a relatively safe environment, and the ant-lion is rewarded with an increased capacity for capturing prey. It should be noted that GroEL protein has toxicity targeted specifically towards other insects.

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(posted Dec. 22 2010)