TOXIN EVOLUTION IN SCORPION VENOM: EVIDENCE FOR TOXIN DIVERGENCE UNDER STRONG NEGATIVE SELECTION IN<i>LEIURUS QUINQUESTRIATUS</i>SUBSPECIES

Smertenko, Andrei; Omran, Mohamed A.; Hussey, Patrick J.; McVean, Alistair

doi:10.1081/txr-100108558

Cited by 12 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Some evidences already displayed the phenomenon of intraspecific diversity of scorpion venom peptides[ 12 , 26 ]. According to SDS-PAGE and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) techniques, the venom of Scorpio maurus palmatus from four geographically isolated localities in Egypt was investigated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It provided an opportunity to give a faithful and particular investigation on intraspecific diversity of scorpion venom peptides exist at the transcript and gene levels. Although previous researches have demonstrated that there are intraspecific molecular diversity exiting in geographic isolated scorpion populations, these researches used mtDNA phylogenetic reconstruction or limited proteomic information to elucidate how the subspecies of scorpion evolved accompanied with biogeographic events[ 26 , 27 ]. Comprehensive and accurate information about intraspecific variation of scorpion venom peptides and proteins is still unrevealed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparative venom gland transcriptome analysis of the scorpion Lychas mucronatus reveals intraspecific toxic gene diversity and new venomous components

Zhao

et al. 2010

BMC Genomics

117

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BackgroundLychas mucronatus is one scorpion species widely distributed in Southeast Asia and southern China. Anything is hardly known about its venom components, despite the fact that it can often cause human accidents. In this work, we performed a venomous gland transcriptome analysis by constructing and screening the venom gland cDNA library of the scorpion Lychas mucronatus from Yunnan province and compared it with the previous results of Hainan-sourced Lychas mucronatus.ResultsA total of sixteen known types of venom peptides and proteins are obtained from the venom gland cDNA library of Yunnan-sourced Lychas mucronatus, which greatly increase the number of currently reported scorpion venom peptides. Interestingly, we also identified nineteen atypical types of venom molecules seldom reported in scorpion species. Surprisingly, the comparative transcriptome analysis of Yunnan-sourced Lychas mucronatus and Hainan-sourced Lychas mucronatus indicated that enormous diversity and vastly abundant difference could be found in venom peptides and proteins between populations of the scorpion Lychas mucronatus from different geographical regions.ConclusionsThis work characterizes a large number of venom molecules never identified in scorpion species. This result provides a comparative analysis of venom transcriptomes of the scorpion Lychas mucronatus from different geographical regions, which thoroughly reveals the fact that the venom peptides and proteins of the same scorpion species from different geographical regions are highly diversified and scorpion evolves to adapt a new environment by altering the primary structure and abundance of venom peptides and proteins.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative venom gland transcriptome analysis of the scorpion Lychas mucronatus reveals intraspecific toxic gene diversity and new venomous components

Zhao

et al. 2010

BMC Genomics

117

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“…A. crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) is the most medically important species, distributed across Egypt (Sinai) and the Middle East including Iran ( Alqahtani & Badry, 2021 ; Amr et al, 2021 ). Scorpion is well-known to have significant regional variation in venom composition ( Devaux et al, 2004 ; Newton et al, 2007 ; Smertenko et al, 2001 ), and thus have a different response to antivenom treatment ( Omran & McVean, 2000 ). Furthermore, other species may also cause scorpion envenomation more frequently than currently thought ( Goyffon, Dabo & Coulibaly, 2012 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphometric and meristic diversity of the species Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in Saudi Arabia

Alqahtani

Badry

Galil

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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Intraspecific molecular and morphological variations among geographically isolated populations are useful for understanding the evolutionary processes, which is considered early stage of allopatric speciation. Also, the knowledge of the regional variation of scorpion venom composition is needed to improve antivenom therapeutic management. Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) is the most common and medically important species in Arabia and the Middle East. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the geographic morphological variation among A.crassicaudapopulations, regarding its geographical distribution in unexplored arid regions in Saudi Arabia. Samples were collected and examined morphologically under a dissecting microscope from different four eco-geographical regions. The results of ANOVA and multivariate statistical analyses provide strong evidence of geographical variation. The two populations from OTU3 and OUT4 showed the greatest degree of morphological difference from populations of OUT1 and OUT2. Each OTU3 and OTU4 populations showed significant speciation without overlapping in the two groups, while the remaining overlapped groups comprised two other populations. Several body variables influenced male separation, including carapace posterior width, metasoma 3rd length, and metasoma 2nd length. For females, telson length, metasoma 1st width, and sternite 7th width were highly influential variables. Such variation may suggest the existence of cryptic taxa within A. crassicauda populations in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, metasoma ratios can be used as good indicators in intraspecific variation studies of Scorpions.

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“…This would, however, be advantageous to circumvent the intellectual property rights and further our understanding of the structural determinants that make chlorotoxin so efficient. A closer look at the taxonomy of scorpion species indicates the existence of two subspecies of Leiurus quinquestriatus and presupposes the existence of several chlorotoxin-like toxins [ 40 ]. A sequence homology search using chlorotoxin as entry reveals the existence of fifteen known scorpion toxins that present at least a 61% sequence identity with chlorotoxin ( Table 1 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Conjugate between Lqh-8/6, a Natural Peptide Analogue of Chlorotoxin, and Doxorubicin Efficiently Induces Glioma Cell Death

et al. 2022

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Natural peptides isolated from animal venoms generally target cell surface receptors with high affinity and selectivity. On many occasions, some of these receptors are over-expressed in cancer cells. Herein, we identified Lqh-8/6 as a natural peptide analog of chlorotoxin, a proven and useful compound for the diagnosis and treatment of glioma. Lqh-8/6 and two other natural analogues were chemically synthesized for the first time and evaluated for their ability to label, detect and prevent glioma growth in vitro. We demonstrate that a biotinylated version of Lqh-8/6 allows both the labeling of glioma cell lines and the detection of glioma in brain sections of glioma allograft Fisher rats. Lqh-8/6 has intrinsic anti-invasive properties but is non-toxic to glioma cells. To confer anti-tumor properties to Lqh-8/6, we chemically coupled doxorubicin to the glioma-targeting peptide using click chemistry. To this end, we successfully chemically synthesized Lqh-8/6-azide and doxorubicin-alkyne without impairing the toxic nature of doxorubicin. The toxin–drug conjugate efficiently promotes the apoptosis of glioma cells in vitro. This example contributes to the concept that animal venom peptides constitute exquisite warheads for delivering toxic chemical conjugates, a parallel to the popular concept of antibody–drug conjugates for the treatment of cancer.

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TOXIN EVOLUTION IN SCORPION VENOM: EVIDENCE FOR TOXIN DIVERGENCE UNDER STRONG NEGATIVE SELECTION INLEIURUS QUINQUESTRIATUSSUBSPECIES

Cited by 12 publications

References 26 publications

Comparative venom gland transcriptome analysis of the scorpion Lychas mucronatus reveals intraspecific toxic gene diversity and new venomous components

Comparative venom gland transcriptome analysis of the scorpion Lychas mucronatus reveals intraspecific toxic gene diversity and new venomous components

Morphometric and meristic diversity of the species Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in Saudi Arabia

A Conjugate between Lqh-8/6, a Natural Peptide Analogue of Chlorotoxin, and Doxorubicin Efficiently Induces Glioma Cell Death

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