Teasing apart ant venom

Organismal Biology![Figure][1] The giant red bull ant has complex multifunctional venom. PHOTO: KAAREL OLESK/GETTY IMAGES Ant venoms are primarily made up of poorly characterized polypeptides. Robinson et al. combined transcriptomics and mass spectrometry–based proteomics to determine the mechanism of action of giant red bull ant venoms. Most of the venom peptides stemmed from a diverse hymenopteran toxin gene superfamily. Two peptides were responsible for causing pain in mammals, but by two different mechanisms. One peptide had both pain-causing activity and incapacitated crickets, a food for these ants, thereby functioning in both defense and predation. Sci. Adv. 10.1126/sciadv.aau4640 (2018). [1]: pending:yes