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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Snake venomics of the Brazilian pitvipers Bothrops cotiara and Bothrops fonsecai. Identification of taxonomy markers

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Author(s):
Tashima, Alexandre K. [1] ; Sanz, Libia [2] ; Camargo, Antonio C. M. [1] ; Serrano, Solange M. T. [1] ; Calvete, Juan J. [2]
Total Authors: 5
Affiliation:
[1] Inst Butantan, Lab Especial Toxinol Aplicada, CAT Cepid, BR-05503900 Sao Paulo - Brazil
[2] CSIC, Inst Biomed Valencia, Valencia 46010 - Spain
Total Affiliations: 2
Document type: Journal article
Source: JOURNAL OF PROTEOMICS; v. 71, n. 4, p. 473-485, OCT 7 2008.
Web of Science Citations: 51
Abstract

We report the proteomic characterization of venom of the pitvipers Bothrops cotiara and Bothrops fonsecai. Crude venoms were fractionated by reverse-phase HPLC, followed by SDS-PAGE, N-terminal sequencing, MALDI-TOF mass fingerprinting, and CID-MS/MS. Each venom contained around 30 proteins in the range of 7-110 kDa belonging to only 8 (B. cotiara) and 9 (B. fonsecai) families which may target the hemostatic system, albeit distinctly distributed among the two species. B. cotiara and B. fonsecai share medium-sized disintegrins, disintegrin-like/cysteine-rich (DC) fragments, snake venom vascular endothelial growth factor, cysteine-rich secretory proteins, serine proteinases, C-type lectins, L-amino acid oxidase, and Zn2+-dependent metalloproteinases. in addition, B. fonsecai expresses a high abundance PLA(2) molecule (13,890 Da), whereas PLA2 molecules were not detected in B. cotiara's venom. This stricking finding is in line with previous biochemical analyses showing the absence of phospholipasic activity in the venom of B. cotiara. The potential adaptive significance of the lack of PLA(2) molecules is enigmatic, and alternative explanations are discussed. B.fonsecai is morphologically extremely similar to B. cotiara. Our comparative proteomic analysis shows that compositional differences between their venoms can be employed as a taxonomy signature for unambiguous species identification independently of geographic origin and morphological characteristics. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 98/14307-9 - Center for Applied Toxinology
Grantee:Hugo Aguirre Armelin
Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers - RIDC