Voltage-gated sodium channels (Na V s) are activated by transiting the voltage sensor from the deactivated to the activated state. The crystal structures of several bacterial Na V s have captured the voltage sensor module (VSM) in an activated state, but structure of the deactivated voltage sensor remains elusive. In this study, we sought to identify peptide toxins stabilizing the deactivated VSM of bacterial Na V s. We screened fractions from several venoms and characterized a cystine knot toxin called JZTx-27 from the venom of tarantula Chilobrachys jingzhao as a high-affinity antagonist of the prokaryotic Na V s nonselective voltage-gated, Bacillus alcalophilus (Ns V Ba) and bacterial sodium channel from Bacillus halodurans (NaChBac) (IC 50 = 112 nM and 30 nM, respectively). JZTx-27 was more efficacious at weaker depolarizing voltages and significantly slowed the activation but accelerated the deactivation of Ns V Ba, whereas the local anesthetic drug lidocaine was shown to antagonize Ns V Ba without affecting channel gating. Mutation analysis confirmed that JZTx-27 bound to S3-4 linker of Ns V Ba, with F98 being the critical residue in determining toxin affinity. All electrophysiological data and in silico analysis suggested that JZTx-27 trapped VSM of Ns V Ba in one of the deactivated states. In mammalian Na V s, JZTx-27 preferably inhibited the inactivation of Na V 1.5 by targeting the fourth transmembrane domain. To our knowledge, this is the first report of peptide antagonist for prokaryotic Na V s. More important, we proposed that JZTx-27 stabilized the Ns V Ba VSM in the deactivated state and may be used as a probe to determine the structure of the deactivated VSM of Na V s.-Tang, C., Zhou, X., Nguyen, P. T., Zhang, Y., Hu, Z., Zhang, C., Yarov-Yarovoy, V. DeCaen, P. G. Liang, S., Liu, Z. A novel tarantula toxin stabilizes the deactivated voltage sensor of bacterial sodium channel. FASEB J. 31, 000-000 (2017). www.fasebj.orgMutations in Na V s cause a variety of diseases of the heart and central and peripheral nervous systems (e.g., long QT syndrome and epilepsy) (1, 2). Many of these mutations are found within the voltage-sensor modules (VSMs) of Na V s, which alter the voltagedependent kinetics of the channel gating (3-5). Understanding structure and function of the voltage sensor of Na V s will provide insight into the molecular basis of electrical signaling in normal and diseased conditions. Eukaryotic Na V s are large proteins with 24 transmembrane segments, making them challenging to study by using crystallographic techniques (6). Several laboratories have crystalized Na V s from bacteria, which are relatively small and homotetrameric (7-10). Four monomers of bacterial Na V s assemble to form a channel. Analogous to the 4 domains (I-IV) of eukaryotic Na V s, each bacterial channel monomer contains a voltage sensor and a pore domain. For prokaryotic Na V s, the first 4 transmembrane segments (S1-4) form a voltage sensor module (VSM) and the last 2 transmembrane segments (S5 and -6) compr...