Differential toxicity and venom gland gene expression in Centruroides vittatus

Body tissue and venom glands from an eastern population of the scorpion Centruroides vittatus (Say, 1821) were homogenized and molecular constituents removed to characterize putative sodium β toxin gene diversity, RT-qPCR, transcriptomic, and proteomic variation. We cloned sodium β toxins from genomic DNA, conducted RT-qPCR experiments with seven sodium β toxin variants, performed venom gland tissue RNA-seq, and isolated venom proteins for mass spectrophotometry. We identified >70 putative novel sodium β toxin genes, 111 toxin gene transcripts, 24 different toxin proteins, and quantified sodium β toxin gene expression variation among individuals and between sexes. Our analyses contribute to the growing evidence that venom toxicity among scorpion taxa and their populations may be associated with toxin gene diversity, specific toxin transcripts variation, and subsequent protein production. Here, slight transcript variation among toxin gene variants may contribute to the major toxin protein variation in individual scorpion venom composition.

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Convergent evolution of venom gland transcriptomes across Metazoa

10.1101/2021.07.04.451048 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Giulia Zancolli ◽

Maarten Reijnders ◽

Robert Waterhouse ◽

Marc Robinson-Rechavi

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Regulatory Networks ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Gene Expression Profiles ◽

Venom Gland ◽

Bioactive Molecules ◽

Specific Gene ◽

Animal Kingdom ◽

Venom Glands

Animals have repeatedly evolved specialized organs and anatomical structures to produce and deliver a cocktail of potent bioactive molecules to subdue prey or predators: venom. This makes it one of the most widespread convergent functions in the animal kingdom. Whether animals have adopted the same genetic toolkit to evolved venom systems is a fascinating question that still eludes us. Here, we performed the first comparative analysis of venom gland transcriptomes from 20 venomous species spanning the main Metazoan lineages, to test whether different animals have independently adopted similar molecular mechanisms to perform the same function. We found a strong convergence in gene expression profiles, with venom glands being more similar to each other than to any other tissue from the same species, and their differences closely mirroring the species phylogeny. Although venom glands secrete some of the fastest evolving molecules (toxins), their gene expression does not evolve faster than evolutionarily older tissues. We found 15 venom gland specific gene modules enriched in endoplasmic reticulum stress and unfolded protein response pathways, indicating that animals have independently adopted stress response mechanisms to cope with mass production of toxins. This, in turns, activates regulatory networks for epithelial development, cell turnover and maintenance which seem composed of both convergent and lineage-specific factors, possibly reflecting the different developmental origins of venom glands. This study represents the first step towards an understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the repeated evolution of one of the most successful adaptive traits in the animal kingdom.

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Erratum to: Gene expression profiling of the venom gland from the Venezuelan mapanare (Bothrops colombiensis) using expressed sequence tags (ESTs)

BMC Molecular Biology ◽

10.1186/s12867-016-0062-z ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Montamas Suntravat ◽

Néstor L. Uzcategui ◽

Chairat Atphaisit ◽

Thomas J. Helmke ◽

Sara E. Lucena ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Gene Expression Profiling ◽

Expressed Sequence Tags ◽

Expression Profiling ◽

Venom Gland ◽

Expressed Sequence

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Differential gene expression profiles in the venom gland/sac ofOrancistrocerus drewseni(Hymenoptera: Eumenidae)

Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology ◽

10.1002/arch.20316 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 71 (4) ◽

pp. 205-222 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Ji Hyeong Baek ◽

Tae Ha Woo ◽

Chang Bae Kim ◽

Jong Hwa Park ◽

Hyojoong Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Differential Gene Expression ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Gene Expression Profiles ◽

Venom Gland ◽

Differential Gene

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Bothrops jararaca venom gland transcriptome: Analysis of the gene expression pattern

Toxicon ◽

10.1016/j.toxicon.2006.07.008 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 48 (4) ◽

pp. 437-461 ◽

Cited By ~ 82

Author(s):

Daniela A.P. Cidade ◽

Tatiana A. Simão ◽

Alberto M.R. Dávila ◽

Glauber Wagner ◽

Inácio de L.M. Junqueira-de-Azevedo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Expression Pattern ◽

Transcriptome Analysis ◽

Gene Expression Pattern ◽

Venom Gland ◽

Bothrops Jararaca

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Differential toxicity and gene expression in Caco-2 cells exposed to arsenic species

Toxicology Letters ◽

10.1016/j.toxlet.2013.01.013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 218 (1) ◽

pp. 70-80 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

M. Calatayud ◽

V. Devesa ◽

D. Vélez

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Arsenic Species ◽

Differential Toxicity

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Gene expression profiling of the venom gland from the Venezuelan mapanare (Bothrops colombiensis) using expressed sequence tags (ESTs)

BMC Molecular Biology ◽

10.1186/s12867-016-0059-7 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Montamas Suntravat ◽

Néstor L. Uzcategui ◽

Chairat Atphaisit ◽

Thomas J. Helmke ◽

Sara E. Lucena ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Gene Expression Profiling ◽

Expressed Sequence Tags ◽

Expression Profiling ◽

Venom Gland ◽

Expressed Sequence

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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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Selective Inhibition of Esophageal Cancer Stem-like Cells with Salinomycin

Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry ◽

10.2174/1871520620666200310093125 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (7) ◽

pp. 783-789

Author(s):

Mahdi Zarei ◽

Marie S. Jazi ◽

Mahboubeh Tajaldini ◽

Ayyoob Khosravi ◽

Jahanbakhsh Asadi

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Esophageal Cancer ◽

Cancer Progression ◽

Cancer Cell Line ◽

Selective Inhibition ◽

P Value ◽

Xtt Assay ◽

Independent Manner ◽

Differential Toxicity ◽

Sphere Formation

Background: Targeting Cancer Stem-Like Cells (CSLCs) can provide promising new therapeutic strategies to inhibit cancer progression, metastasis and recurrence. Salinomycin (Sal), an antibacterial ionophore, has been shown to inhibit CSCs specifically. Recently, it has been reported that Sal can destabilize TAZ, the hypo pathway transducer in CSLCs. Objective: Here, in the current study, we aimed to assess the differential toxicity of Sal in esophageal CSLCs and its relation to TAZ gene expression. Methods: The esophageal cancer cell line, KYSE-30, was used for the enrichment of CSLCs. The expression of TAZ was knocked down using specific siRNA transfection and then the cytotoxicity of Sal was measured using XTT assay. The qRT-PCR method was used for gene expression assessment and the sphere formation ability was monitored using light microscopy. Result: Our findings showed that esophageal CSLCs over-express stemness-associated genes, including SOX2, OCT4 as well as TAZ (~14 fold, P value=0.02) transcription coactivator. We found Sal can selectively inhibit KYSE-30 CSLCs viability and sphere formation ability; however, TAZ knockdown does not change its differential toxicity. Conclusion: Overall, our results indicated that Sal can selectively decrease the viability of esophageal CSLCs in a TAZ-independent manner.

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