Proteomic analysis of the venom from the fish eating coral snake Micrurus surinamensis: Novel toxins, their function and phylogeny

Abstract

The protein composition of the soluble venom from the South American fish-eating coral snake Micrurus surinamensis surinamensis, here abbreviated M. surinamensis, was separated by RP-HPLC and 2-DE, and their components were analyzed by automatic Edman degradation, MALDI-TOF and ESI-MS/MS. Approximately 100 different molecules were identified. Sixty-two components possess molecular masses between 6 and 8 kDa, are basically charged molecules, among which are cytotoxins and neurotoxins lethal to fish (Brachidanios rerio). Six new toxins (abbreviated Ms1-Ms5 and Ms11) were fully sequenced. Amino acid sequences similar to the enzymes phospholipase A2 and amino acid oxidase were identified. Over 20 additional peptides were identified by sequencing minor components of the HPLC separation and from 2-DE gels. A functional assessment of the physiological activity of the six toxins was also performed by patch clamp using muscular nicotinic acetylcholine receptor assays. Variable degrees of blockade were observed, most of them reversible. The structural and functional data obtained were used for phylogenetic analysis, providing information on some evolutionary aspects of the venom components of this snake. This contribution increases by a factor of two the total number of alpha-neurotoxins sequenced from the Micrurus genus in currently available literature.

Proteomic and biological characterization of the venom of the redtail coral snake, Micrurus mipartitus (Elapidae), from Colombia and Costa Rica

“…3), followed by PLA 2 s [37][38][39]. An exception is the venom of the Central American coral snake, M. nigrocinctus, which presents an inverse proportion of these two types of proteins [40].…”

Envenomation by Micrurus coral snakes in the Brazilian Amazon region: report of two cases

“…It inhabits humid tropical forests and secondary forests, near water flows of the Amazonas and Orinoco Rivers, in the Northern and Central parts of South America 11,12,14,30 . A proteomic analysis of the venom of the fisheating M. surinamensis provides an overview of its protein composition, the specific pharmacological features of which differ from other Micrurus species 28 . Micrurus filiformis is also broadly distributed in the Amazon basin and may be found in secondary forests, low altitude mountains, open fields, and humid forests 7,16,30 .…”

Characterization of a new muscarinic toxin from the venom of the Brazilian coral snake Micrurus lemniscatus in rat hippocampus

“…The molecular mass of the MT-Mlα determined by ESI-MS in the range of 7 KDa, is typically found in neurotoxins that belong to the Micrurus (Olamendi-Portugal et al, 2008) and Dendroaspis (Ségalas et al, 1995) genera. The partial sequence analyses generated with the new data allowed to bridge a link among the various venom components of other Elapidae containing the three-finger structures.…”

“…Some neurotoxins endowed of PLA2 activity (Oliveira et al, 2008) or neurotoxins that have high affinity to nAChRs (Olamendi-Portugal et al, 2008) have been isolated and characterized from genus Micrurus. In spite of the low incidence of Coral snake accidents and the fact that the signs and symptoms caused by Micrurus sp.…”

“…In spite of the low incidence of Coral snake accidents and the fact that the signs and symptoms caused by Micrurus sp. envenomation are the result of a progressive blockade of neuromuscular transmission at the endplates, in severe cases, death may result from respiratory arrest (Olamendi-Portugal et al, 2008).…”