Venomics of the Scorpion Tityus ocelote (Scorpiones, Buthidae): Understanding Venom Evolution in the Subgenus Archaeotityus

Abstract

The subgenus Tityus (Archaeotityus) includes small variegated species considered until recently, a basal group within Tityus, one of the most diverse and medically relevant genera of scorpions in the New World. Archaeotityus species are distributed in the humid forests of Lower Central America and the Choco, Guiana Shield, and Amazon regions. Due to their size and habits, Archaeotityus species are not usually considered dangerous, however, there are some clinical reports that show otherwise. To contribute to the toxinological knowledge of these poorly explored species, we characterized the venom of Tityus ocelote from three localities in Costa Rica. In addition, we assessed the evolutionary relationships of putative sodium channel modulating peptides found in this species with those reported for other members of the genus, through a maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis based on their amino acid sequences.We observed the presence of homologs of previously identi ed NaTx from the species T. (Archaeotityus) clathratus and some other putative Na + and K + channel modulating peptides related to the T. bahiensis group. In addition, we sequenced some peptides related to toxins present in the venom of the subgenus Atreus, such as those reported T. obscurus, T. pachyurus, and the Costa Rican endemic species T. dedoslargos. Our phylogenetic analysis suggests that the venom of this Archaeotityus species is very complex and that some of the ion channel toxins expressed in it are related to distinct lineages within the genus Tityus, which could represent a plesiomorphic condition conserved in this group of scorpions of the New World.

Scorpion Venom as a Source of Antimicrobial Peptides: Overview of Biomolecule Separation, Analysis and Characterization Methods

“…Collectively, these approaches provide a more comprehensive characterization of scorpion venoms, thereby enhancing the clinical assessment of scorpion envenomation [ 102 , 109 ]. Proteomics has emerged as a key strategy for analyzing scorpion venom, offering a fundamental breakdown of the complex mixture and enabling the profiling and characterization of its components [ 110 , 111 ]. Two approaches can be employed to perform proteomic analysis: bottom-up (BU) and top-down (TD).…”

Congruence between ultraconserved element‐based matrices and phylotranscriptomic datasets in the scorpion Tree of Life

“…Beyond facilitating the inference of deep phylogenetic relationships, transcriptomic datasets offered exceptional insights into the composition and evolution of toxins in resting venom gland tissues (e.g. He et al, 2013;Sunagar et al, 2013;Santib añez-L opez et al, 2016aSantib añez-L opez et al, , 2017bSantib añez-L opez et al, , 2018Santib añez-L opez et al, , 2019bSantib añez-L opez et al, , 2022D ıaz et al, 2023). Transcriptome data have revealed evidence for ancient, shared genome duplication in arachnopulmonates, a vital discovery in the placement of Scorpiones in the chelicerate Tree of Life (Schwager et al, 2017;Nolan et al, 2020;Ontano et al, 2021).…”