Ice nucleators in the gut of prey reduce supercooling ability of a predator, Achaearanea tepidariorum (Araneae: Theridiidae)

抄録

In many arthropod species, the gut contains exogenous ice nucleators. These substances might be transmitted to spiders through predation and cause ice formation in the spider's alimentary canal. To test this hypothesis, supercooling point (SCP) of the house spider, Achaearanea tepidariorum that ate either the whole body of Porcellio scaber or only the isolated gut by way of cricket were compared. Ingestion of the cricket that had fed isopod's gut elevated the spider's SCP from about -15°C to -9°C and this effect was comparable to that of whole body of the isopod. The supercooling ability of A. tepidariorum is thus limited by ice nucleators present at least in the gut of prey animals.