Compositional and functional characterization of Micrurus spixii venom

• Grant number: 23/02183-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2023
• End date: December 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Public Health
• Principal Investigator: Karen de Morais Zani
• Grantee: Luiza Lopes Locatelli
• Host Institution: Instituto Butantan. Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The suborder Serpentes includes animals with an elongated body, which move by undulations without the presence of anterior locomotor limbs. Snake venom is a toxic secretion, with several proteins and mechanisms of action, such as neurotoxic, myotoxic and coagulant. Within the Suborder Serpentes there is the family Elapidae, to which the genus Micrurus belongs. Micrurus is an abundant and diverse group of snakes that corresponds to coral snakes, with venom containing toxins that have different actions, such as Phospholipases A2 (PLA2s), with neurotoxic and myotoxic action, and Three-fingers-toxins (3FTXs), with cytotoxic, neurotoxic and necrotizing action. Although cases of envenoming by coral snakes are rare, they are serious and potentially fatal, supporting the importance of studing these animals, their venoms and their action in human envenomation. It is known that toxin families and their relative abundance vary among species and among individuals of the same species. The species Micrurus spixii is one of the most common species of Micrurus, found in the center-north of the state of Amazonas, in Rondônia, in the north of Mato Grosso and in Pará. Considering that Micrurus venoms have low availability, due to low venom production, fossorial and cryptozoic habits, and low survival in captivity, there are relatively few studies on the characterization of these venoms. Thus, the objective of this project is to characterize the composition and function of the venom of the M. spixii snake, at the Herpetology Laboratory of the Butantan Institute.