Carolina Lopera Londoño

Ms. Carolina Lopera Londoño


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

4Years (2023-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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2 July 2023 in Toxins
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
JVJulieta Vásquez-Escobar
Julieta Vásquez-Escobar
DBDora Benjumea
Dora Benjumea
CLCarolina Lopera Londoño
Carolina Lopera Londoño
HCHerlinda Clement
Herlinda Clement
DBDamaris I. Bolaños
Damaris I. Bolaños
Lilu Corrales-GarciaLilu Corrales-Garcia
Lilu Corrales-Garcia
Spider venoms are composed, among other substances, of peptide toxins whose selectivity for certain physiological targets has made them powerful tools for applications such as bioinsecticides, analgesics, antiarrhythmics, antibacterials, antifungals and antimalarials, among others. Bioinsecticides are an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional agrochemicals. In this paper, the primary structure of an insecticidal peptide was obtained from the venom gland transcriptome of the ctenid spider Phoneutria depilata (Transcript ID PhdNtxNav24). The peptide contains 53 amino acids, including 10 Cys residues that form 5 disulfide bonds. Using the amino acid sequence of such peptide, a synthetic gene was constructed de novo by overlapping PCRs and cloned into an expression vector. A recombinant peptide, named delta-ctenitoxin (rCtx-4), was obtained. It was expressed, folded, purified and validated using mass spectrometry (7994.61 Da). The insecticidal activity of rCtx-4 was demonstrated through intrathoracic injection in crickets (LD50 1.2 μg/g insect) and it was not toxic to mice. rCtx-4 is a potential bioinsecticide that could have a broad spectrum of applications in agriculture.