[The chromosomal genes for black widow spider neurotoxins do not contain introns]

The overlapping fragments of the chromosomal DNA from black widow spider Latrodectus mactans carrying genes for high-molecular-mass protein neurotoxins, alpha- and delta-latroinsectotoxins (alpha-LIT and delta-LIT) and alpha-latrotoxin (alpha-LTX), were PCR-amplified and cloned. Restriction analysis of the PCR products showed that the distribution and sizes of the restriction fragments coincided with those deduced from the earlier sequencing of cDNAs of the corresponding genes. It thus followed that the alpha-LIT and delta-LIT genes are intronless. Along with our data on the structure of the alpha-latrocrustotoxin (alpha-LCT), this implies that the lack of introns is a common feature of the black widow spider genes encoding high molecular mass neurotoxins.