Colubrid Venom Composition: An -Omics Perspective
Snake venoms have been subjected to increasingly sensitive analyses for well over 100 years, but most research has been restricted to front-fanged snakes, which actually represent a relatively small proportion of extant species of advanced snakes. Because rear-fanged snakes are a diverse and distinc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2016-07-01
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| Series: | Toxins |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/8/8/230 |
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| author | Inácio L. M. Junqueira-de-Azevedo Pollyanna F. Campos Ana T. C. Ching Stephen P. Mackessy |
| author_facet | Inácio L. M. Junqueira-de-Azevedo Pollyanna F. Campos Ana T. C. Ching Stephen P. Mackessy |
| author_sort | Inácio L. M. Junqueira-de-Azevedo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Snake venoms have been subjected to increasingly sensitive analyses for well over 100 years, but most research has been restricted to front-fanged snakes, which actually represent a relatively small proportion of extant species of advanced snakes. Because rear-fanged snakes are a diverse and distinct radiation of the advanced snakes, understanding venom composition among “colubrids” is critical to understanding the evolution of venom among snakes. Here we review the state of knowledge concerning rear-fanged snake venom composition, emphasizing those toxins for which protein or transcript sequences are available. We have also added new transcriptome-based data on venoms of three species of rear-fanged snakes. Based on this compilation, it is apparent that several components, including cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRiSPs), C-type lectins (CTLs), CTLs-like proteins and snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs), are broadly distributed among “colubrid” venoms, while others, notably three-finger toxins (3FTxs), appear nearly restricted to the Colubridae (sensu stricto). Some putative new toxins, such as snake venom matrix metalloproteinases, are in fact present in several colubrid venoms, while others are only transcribed, at lower levels. This work provides insights into the evolution of these toxin classes, but because only a small number of species have been explored, generalizations are still rather limited. It is likely that new venom protein families await discovery, particularly among those species with highly specialized diets. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:33:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-83b251ec9329485daa731e66d2df50e3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6651 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:33:07Z |
| publishDate | 2016-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Toxins |
| spelling | doaj.art-83b251ec9329485daa731e66d2df50e32022-12-22T04:01:50ZengMDPI AGToxins2072-66512016-07-018823010.3390/toxins8080230toxins8080230Colubrid Venom Composition: An -Omics PerspectiveInácio L. M. Junqueira-de-Azevedo0Pollyanna F. Campos1Ana T. C. Ching2Stephen P. Mackessy3Laboratório Especial de Toxinologia Aplicada, Center of Toxins, Immune-Response and Cell Signaling (CeTICS), Instituto Butantan, São Paulo 05503-900, BrazilLaboratório Especial de Toxinologia Aplicada, Center of Toxins, Immune-Response and Cell Signaling (CeTICS), Instituto Butantan, São Paulo 05503-900, BrazilLaboratório de Imunoquímica, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo 05503-900, BrazilSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO 80639-0017, USASnake venoms have been subjected to increasingly sensitive analyses for well over 100 years, but most research has been restricted to front-fanged snakes, which actually represent a relatively small proportion of extant species of advanced snakes. Because rear-fanged snakes are a diverse and distinct radiation of the advanced snakes, understanding venom composition among “colubrids” is critical to understanding the evolution of venom among snakes. Here we review the state of knowledge concerning rear-fanged snake venom composition, emphasizing those toxins for which protein or transcript sequences are available. We have also added new transcriptome-based data on venoms of three species of rear-fanged snakes. Based on this compilation, it is apparent that several components, including cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRiSPs), C-type lectins (CTLs), CTLs-like proteins and snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs), are broadly distributed among “colubrid” venoms, while others, notably three-finger toxins (3FTxs), appear nearly restricted to the Colubridae (sensu stricto). Some putative new toxins, such as snake venom matrix metalloproteinases, are in fact present in several colubrid venoms, while others are only transcribed, at lower levels. This work provides insights into the evolution of these toxin classes, but because only a small number of species have been explored, generalizations are still rather limited. It is likely that new venom protein families await discovery, particularly among those species with highly specialized diets.http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/8/8/230Colubridaeevolutionproteinssnaketoxinstranscriptomics |
| spellingShingle | Inácio L. M. Junqueira-de-Azevedo Pollyanna F. Campos Ana T. C. Ching Stephen P. Mackessy Colubrid Venom Composition: An -Omics Perspective Toxins Colubridae evolution proteins snake toxins transcriptomics |
| title | Colubrid Venom Composition: An -Omics Perspective |
| title_full | Colubrid Venom Composition: An -Omics Perspective |
| title_fullStr | Colubrid Venom Composition: An -Omics Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Colubrid Venom Composition: An -Omics Perspective |
| title_short | Colubrid Venom Composition: An -Omics Perspective |
| title_sort | colubrid venom composition an omics perspective |
| topic | Colubridae evolution proteins snake toxins transcriptomics |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/8/8/230 |
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