Characterization, expression and potential functions of seven acetylcholine esterases in the spider Cupiennius salei
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Acetylcholine esterases (AChEs) are essential enzymes in cholinergic synapses, terminating neurotransmission by hydrolyzing acetylcholine. Membrane bound AChEs at synaptic clefts efficiently perform this task, while soluble AChEs are less stable and effective, but function over broader areas. Vertebrates typically have one AChE gene producing alternatively spliced forms, whereas some invertebrates have multiple AChE genes, producing both synaptic and soluble enzymes. Despite extensive research of invertebrate AChEs as pesticide targets, their physiological roles remain largely elusive. We characterized seven AChEs in the wandering spider, Cupiennius salei, a model species for developmental and neurophysiological studies. Structural and phylogenetic analyses identified CsAChE7 as the sole stable, membrane-bound enzyme likely functioning at synaptic clefts, while the other six are soluble enzymes. In situ hybridization revealed CsAChE7 expression in the nervous system, particularly in cells also expressing choline acetyltransferase and exhibiting AChE activity. In the periphery, CsAChE7 was found in a subgroup of rapidly adapting mechanosensory neurons, facilitating precise and transient activation of postsynaptic cells. Conversely, slowly adapting neurons, also cholinergic, within the same sensory organ, express only soluble AChEs, leading to prolonged postsynaptic activation. Therefore, cholinergic transmission is not only dictated by postsynaptic receptors but also by the characteristics of the enzymes clearing acetylcholine from the synapse. We also show that acetylcholine is a crucial neurotransmitter in the spider’s visual system, sensory and motor pathways, but absent in excitatory motor neurons at neuromuscular junctions, consistent with other arthropods. Our findings on sequence structures may significantly impact the development of neurological drugs and pesticides.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".