Snake venom variability: methods of study, results and interpretation

Chippaux, Jean-Philippe; Williams, Vaughan; White, Julian

doi:10.1016/0041-0101(91)90116-9

Cited by 659 publications

(443 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…Over and above, the therapy is much more complicated due to the factor of venom variability. The variation in venom composition and pharmacology has been addressed for different snake venoms at several levels (Chipppaux et al, 1991). Studies on understanding the intra-specific variability of venoms are gaining much attention with the intention of production of efficacious therapeutic antivenom and have been studied extensively (Goncalves, 1956;Glenn et al, 1983;Silveira et al, 1990;Yang et al, 1991;Lomonte and Carmona, 1992;Oguiura et al, 2000;Ferquel et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systemic pathological effects induced by cobra (Naja naja) venom from geographically distinct origins of Indian peninsula

Shashidharamurthy

Mahadeswaraswamy

Ragupathi

et al. 2010

Experimental and Toxicologic Pathology

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systemic pathological effects induced by cobra (Naja naja) venom from geographically distinct origins of Indian peninsula

Shashidharamurthy

Mahadeswaraswamy

Ragupathi

et al. 2010

Experimental and Toxicologic Pathology

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“…69,71 Thus, knowledge of the geographical and the individual variability in venoms, as reported here, could be relevant for antivenom production.…”

Section: Research Articlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Intraspecific geographical venom variations represents a well-known phenomenon since more than 70 years ago, 83,84 and numerous authors have described difference in symptomatology after envenomation by snakes from the same species from different geographical origin. 69 However, the molecular player, mechanisms, and evolutionary forces that underlie intraspecific venom variation within snake populations is an important yet largely unrealized goal in evolutionary biology. The present work, which reports the first detailed characterization of individual and ontogenetic venom protein profile variations in two geographical isolated B. asper populations, represents an effort in that direction.…”

Section: Research Articlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Snake Venomics of the Lancehead Pitviper Bothrops asper: Geographic, Individual, and Ontogenetic Variations

et al. 2008

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We report the comparative proteomic characterization of the venoms of adult and newborn specimens of the lancehead pitviper Bothrops asper from two geographically isolated populations from the Caribbean and the Pacific versants of Costa Rica. The crude venoms were fractionated by reverse-phase HPLC, followed by analysis of each chromatographic fraction by SDS-PAGE, N-terminal sequencing, MALDI-TOF mass fingerprinting, and collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry of tryptic peptides. The two B. asper populations, separated since the late Miocene or early Pliocene (8-5 mya) by the Guanacaste Mountain Range, Central Mountain Range, and Talamanca Mountain Range, contain both identical and different (iso)enzymes from the PLA 2 , serine proteinase, and SVMP families. Using a similarity coefficient, we estimate that the similarity of venom proteins between the two B. asper populations may be around 52%. Compositional differences between venoms among different geographic regions may be due to evolutionary environmental pressure acting on isolated populations. To investigate venom variability among specimens from the two B. asper populations, the reverse-phase HPLC protein profiles of 15 venoms from Caribbean specimens and 11 venoms from snakes from Pacific regions were compared. Within each B. asper geographic populations, all major venom protein families appeared to be subjected to individual variations. The occurrence of intraspecific individual allopatric variability highlights the concept that a species, B. asper in our case, should be considered as a group of metapopulations. Analysis of pooled venoms of neonate specimens from Caribbean and Pacific regions with those of adult snakes from the same geographical habitat revealed prominent ontogenetic changes in both geographical populations. Major ontogenetic changes appear to be a shift from a PIII-SVMP-rich to a PI-SVMP-rich venom and the secretion in adults of a distinct set of PLA 2 molecules than in the neonates. In addition, the ontogenetic venom composition shift results in increasing venom complexity, indicating that the requirement for the venom to immobilize prey and initiate digestion may change with the size (age) of the snake. Besides ecological and taxonomical implications, the geographical venom variability reported here may have an impact in the treatment of bite victims and in the selection of specimens for antivenom production. The occurrence of intraspecies variability in the biochemical composition and symptomatology after envenomation by snakes from different gegraphical location and age has long been apreciated by herpetologist and toxinologists, though detailed comparative proteomic analysis are scarce. Our study represents the first detailed characterization of individual and ontogenetic venom protein profile variations in two geographical isolated B. asper populations, and highlights the necessity of using pooled venoms as a statistically representative venom for antivenom production.

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“…However, the efficacy of these therapies is largely restricted to the snake species whose venom was used in manufacture. This limitation arises because variation in venom composition is ubiquitous at every level of snake taxonomy, including interspecifically and intraspecifically and even ontogenetically (6)(7)(8)(9). Importantly, the extent of this variation is not simply reflected by taxonomic distance (9)(10)(11) and, therefore, cannot be readily predicted.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Medically important differences in snake venom composition are dictated by distinct postgenomic mechanisms

Casewell

Wagstaff

Wüster

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

280

256

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Variation in venom composition is a ubiquitous phenomenon in snakes and occurs both interspecifically and intraspecifically. Venom variation can have severe outcomes for snakebite victims by rendering the specific antibodies found in antivenoms ineffective against heterologous toxins found in different venoms. The rapid evolutionary expansion of different toxin-encoding gene families in different snake lineages is widely perceived as the main cause of venom variation. However, this view is simplistic and disregards the understudied influence that processes acting on gene transcription and translation may have on the production of the venom proteome. Here, we assess the venom composition of six related viperid snakes and compare interspecific changes in the number of toxin genes, their transcription in the venom gland, and their translation into proteins secreted in venom. Our results reveal that multiple levels of regulation are responsible for generating variation in venom composition between related snake species. We demonstrate that differential levels of toxin transcription, translation, and their posttranslational modification have a substantial impact upon the resulting venom protein mixture. Notably, these processes act to varying extents on different toxin paralogs found in different snakes and are therefore likely to be as important as ancestral gene duplication events for generating compositionally distinct venom proteomes. Our results suggest that these processes may also contribute to altering the toxicity of snake venoms, and we demonstrate how this variability can undermine the treatment of a neglected tropical disease, snakebite.

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Snake venom variability: methods of study, results and interpretation

Cited by 659 publications

References 87 publications

Systemic pathological effects induced by cobra (Naja naja) venom from geographically distinct origins of Indian peninsula

Systemic pathological effects induced by cobra (Naja naja) venom from geographically distinct origins of Indian peninsula

Snake Venomics of the Lancehead Pitviper Bothrops asper: Geographic, Individual, and Ontogenetic Variations

Medically important differences in snake venom composition are dictated by distinct postgenomic mechanisms

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