Good vibrations: Assessing the stability of snake venom composition after researcher-induced disturbance in the laboratory

An understanding of the variability of snake venom composition is of high relevance for adequate treatment of snakebites. Clinical observations of bite victims are considered as a first step in the study of venom variability. The present paper suggests the study of local clinical observations made by healers as an anthropological contribution to the interdisci-plinary research of venom variability on a species and subspecies level. Such an anthropological contribution will take into account cultural particularities of a region. In order to illustrate his approach, the author describes his ethnozoological and ethnomedical fieldwork among Zarma and Tuareg in western Niger where he studied envenomation by Echis leucogaster. This species is of particular interest, as no medical descriptions of envenomation resulting from its bites seem to exist.

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Size Matters: An Evaluation of the Molecular Basis of Ontogenetic Modifications in the Composition of Bothrops jararacussu Snake Venom

Toxins ◽

10.3390/toxins12120791 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (12) ◽

pp. 791

Author(s):

Luciana A. Freitas-de-Sousa ◽

Pedro G. Nachtigall ◽

José A. Portes-Junior ◽

Matthew L. Holding ◽

Gunnar S. Nystrom ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Snake Venom ◽

Molecular Basis ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Venom Gland ◽

Ontogenetic Changes ◽

Bothrops Jararacussu ◽

Phospholipases A2 ◽

Venom Composition ◽

Putative Toxin

Ontogenetic changes in venom composition have been described in Bothrops snakes, but only a few studies have attempted to identify the targeted paralogues or the molecular mechanisms involved in modifications of gene expression during ontogeny. In this study, we decoded B. jararacussu venom gland transcripts from six specimens of varying sizes and analyzed the variability in the composition of independent venom proteomes from 19 individuals. We identified 125 distinct putative toxin transcripts, and of these, 73 were detected in venom proteomes and only 10 were involved in the ontogenetic changes. Ontogenetic variability was linearly related to snake size and did not correspond to the maturation of the reproductive stage. Changes in the transcriptome were highly predictive of changes in the venom proteome. The basic myotoxic phospholipases A2 (PLA2s) were the most abundant components in larger snakes, while in venoms from smaller snakes, PIII-class SVMPs were the major components. The snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) identified corresponded to novel sequences and conferred higher pro-coagulant and hemorrhagic functions to the venom of small snakes. The mechanisms modulating venom variability are predominantly related to transcriptional events and may consist of an advantage of higher hematotoxicity and more efficient predatory function in the venom from small snakes.

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Preliminary Biochemical and Venomic Characterization of the Venom of Phalotris lemniscatus (Serpentes, Colubridae)

Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry ◽

10.2174/1568026619666190802143252 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (22) ◽

pp. 1981-1989 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jeny Bastida ◽

Alejandro Crampet ◽

Melitta Meneghel ◽

Victor Morais

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Blood Coagulation ◽

Snake Venom ◽

Clinical Relevance ◽

Protein Families ◽

Snake Venoms ◽

Highly Active ◽

Venom Composition ◽

Kunitz Type

Background: For many decades, research on snake venom toxinology focused mainly on the venoms of Viperidae and Elapidae species, which were traditionally the only ones considered as venomous. However, much less interest has been given to the venom produced by opisthoglyphous colubrid snakes, since they were typically considered of no clinical relevance. Objective: The aim of this work is to perform a preliminary biochemical and venomic characterization of the venom of the colubrid snake Phalotris lemniscatus, a species that has been responsible for two relevant cases of envenomation in Uruguay. Methods: We extracted venom from collected specimens and performed different biochemical and proteomic assays to understand its toxin composition. Results: We found that the venom of P. lemniscatus is composed of protein families typically present in snake venoms, such as metallo and serine preoteases, L-amino acid oxidases, phospholipases A2s, Ctype lectines-like, Kunitz-type proteins and three-finger toxins. Activity assays demonstrated a highly active gelatinolytic component as well as a potent capability to induce blood coagulation. Conclusion: The results indicate that the venom of P. lemniscatus contains hemotoxic activities and components that resemble those found in Viperidae (Bothrops) snakes and that can induce a clinically relevant accident. Further studies are needed to better understand the venom composition of this colubrid snake and its most active compounds.

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Evidence for Snake Venom Plasticity in a Long-Term Study with Individual Captive Bothrops atrox

Toxins ◽

10.3390/toxins11050294 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 294 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Diana R. Amazonas ◽

Luciana A. Freitas-de-Sousa ◽

Daniele P. Orefice ◽

Leijiane F. de Sousa ◽

Melissa G. Martinez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Snake Venom ◽

Individual Variability ◽

Long Term Study ◽

Venom Composition ◽

Core Function ◽

In Captivity ◽

Functional Consequences ◽

Bothrops Atrox ◽

Diet Type

Variability in snake venom composition has been frequently reported and correlated to the adaptability of snakes to environmental conditions. Previous studies report plasticity for the venom phenotype. However, these observations are not conclusive, as the results were based on pooled venoms, which present high individual variability. Here we tested the hypothesis of plasticity by influence of confinement and single diet type in the venom composition of 13 adult specimens of Bothrops atrox snakes, maintained under captivity for more than three years. Individual variability in venom composition was observed in samples extracted just after the capture of the snakes. However, composition was conserved in venoms periodically extracted from nine specimens, which presented low variability restricted to the less abundant components. In a second group, composed of four snakes, drastic changes were observed in the venom samples extracted at different periods, mostly related to snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs), the core function toxins of B. atrox venom, which occurred approximately between 400 and 500 days in captivity. These data show plasticity in the venom phenotype during the lifetime of adult snakes maintained under captive conditions. Causes or functional consequences involved in the phenotype modification require further investigations.

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Probing the Key Binding Sequence and Improvement of the Stability of a β-Bungarotoxin-binding Aptamer in Snake Venom

Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society ◽

10.1002/bkcs.10737 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 37 (5) ◽

pp. 649-654

Author(s):

Fengping Ye ◽

Qili Mi ◽

Ning Zhang ◽

Xuemei Li ◽

Jing Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Snake Venom ◽

The Stability ◽

Binding Sequence

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Proteopeptidomic, Functional and Immunoreactivity Characterization of Bothrops moojeni Snake Venom: Influence of Snake Gender on Venom Composition

Toxins ◽

10.3390/toxins10050177 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 177 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Fernanda Amorim ◽

Tassia Costa ◽

Dominique Baiwir ◽

Edwin De Pauw ◽

Loic Quinton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Snake Venom ◽

Venom Composition ◽

Bothrops Moojeni

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Community venomics reveals intra-species variations in venom composition of a local population of Vipera kaznakovi in Northeastern Turkey

10.1101/503276 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel Petras ◽

Benjamin-Florian Hempel ◽

Bayram Göçmen ◽

Mert Karis ◽

Gareth Whiteley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Snake Venom ◽

Local Population ◽

Venom Gland ◽

Intact Protein ◽

List Type ◽

Snake Venoms ◽

Top Down ◽

Bottom Up ◽

Venom Composition ◽

Snake Bites

AbstractWe report on the variable venom composition of a population of the Caucasus viper (Vipera kaznakovi) in Northeastern Turkey. We applied a combination of venom gland transcriptomics, as well as de-complexing bottom-up and top-down venomics, enabling the comparison of the venom proteomes from multiple individuals. In total, we identified peptides and proteins from 15 toxin families, including snake venom metalloproteinases (svMP; 37.8%), phospholipases A2 (PLA2; 19.0%), snake venom serine proteinases (svSP; 11.5%), C-type lectins (CTL; 6.9%) and cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRISP; 5.0%), in addition to several low abundant toxin families. Furthermore, we identified intra-species variations of the V. kaznakovi venom composition, and find these were mainly driven by the age of the animals, with lower svSP abundance in juveniles. On a proteoform level, several small molecular weight toxins between 5 and 8 kDa in size, as well as PLA2s, drove the difference between juvenile and adult individuals. This study provides first insights into venom variability of V. kaznakovi and highlights the utility of intact mass profiling for a fast and detailed comparison of snake venoms of individuals from a community.Biological SignificancePopulation level and ontogenetic venom variation (e.g. diet, habitat, sex or age) can cause a loss of antivenom efficacy against snake bites from wide ranging snake populations. The state of the art for the analysis of snake venoms are de-complexing bottom-up proteomics approaches. While useful, these have the significant drawback of being time-consuming and following costly protocols, and consequently are often applied to pooled venom samples. To overcome these shortcomings and to enable rapid and detailed profiling of large numbers of individual venom samples, we integrated an intact protein analysis workflow into a transcriptomics-guided bottom-up approach. The application of this workflow to snake individuals of a local population of V. kaznakovi revealed intra-species variations in venom composition, which are primarily explained by the age of the animals, and highlighted svSP abundance to be one of the molecular drivers for the compositional differences.HighlightsFirst community venomic analysis of a local population of the Caucasian viper (Vipera kaznakovi).The venom gland transcriptome of V. kaznakovi identified 46 toxin genes relating to 15 venom toxin families.Bottom-up venomics revealed the identification of 25 proteins covering 7 toxin families mainly dominated by snake venom metalloproteinases (svMP).Community venomics by top-down mass profiling revealed ontogenetic shifts between juvenile and adult snakes.

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