Sexual and ontogenetic variation of Bothrops leucurus venom

Author(s)

Machado Braga, Jacqueline Ramos ^[1] ; de Morais-Zani, Karen ^{[2, 3]} ; Pereira, Diego dos Santos ^[1] ; Sant'Anna, Savio Stefanini ^[2] ; Galizio, Nathalia da Costa ^[3] ; Tanaka-Azevedo, Anita Mitico ^{[2, 3]} ; Gomes Vilarinho, Ariel Rodrigues ^[4] ; Rodrigues, Jose Lucca ^[4] ; Teixeira da Rocha, Marisa Maria ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Reconcavo Bahia, Ctr Ciencias Agr Ambientais & Biol, Cruz Das Almas, BA - Brazil

^[2] Inst Butantan, Lab Herpetol, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Interunidades Biotecnol, Inst Pesquisas Tecnol, Inst Butantan, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[4] Inst Butantan, Casa Afranio Amaral, Toxinas Interesse Saude, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Toxicon; v. 184, p. 127-135, SEP 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Various factors, such as geographical origin, climate, sex, age and diet can influence the composition and pathophysiological activities of snake venoms. In this study, we examined the sexual and ontogenetic variations in the venom of Bothrops leucurus, a pitviper responsible for more than 80% of the snakebites in the state of Bahia, northeastern Brazilian. The venoms of 31 snakes were pooled according to sex and age (young, adult and old) and screened by SDS-PAGE (in reducing and non-reducing conditions), reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), gelatin zymography, and immunoblotting with therapeutic bothropic antivenom (BAV) from the Instituto Butantan. The electrophoretic and chromatographic profiles showed intraspecific ontogenetic variation, whereas sexual variations were less evident. All venoms showed gelatinolytic activity associated with 50-75 kDa protein bands. In addition, all venoms, regardless of the snakes' sex and age, cross-reacted to similar extents with BAV. Our findings show that B. leucurus venom changes during ontogenetic development and demonstrate sexual differences in its composition, indicating differences in biological activity. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/11108-0 - Comparative study of biomolecules composition of Bothrops jararaca and Crotalus durissus terrificus venom born and maintained at the Butantan Institute and newly arrived from nature
• Grantee: Karen de Morais Zani
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 18/14724-4 - Proteomic and functional characterization of the venom of two species of snakes of the genus Bothrops submitted to diet change
• Grantee: Nathália da Costa Galizio
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• FAPESP's process: 17/16908-2 - Proteomic characterization and enzymatic and pathophysiological activities of the venom of the snake species that compose the Bothrops neuwiedi group
• Grantee: Karen de Morais Zani
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 16/09976-9 - Comparison of venom from Bothrops jararaca snake maintained in captivity and newly arrived from nature
• Grantee: Nathália da Costa Galizio
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• FAPESP's process: 18/25786-0 - Phospholipase A2 inhibitors (PLIs) present in venomous and non-venomous snake plasmas and evaluation of the neutralizing activity of these inhibitors on the phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activities of snake venoms
• Grantee: Anita Mitico Tanaka-Azevedo
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants