Venomic Analysis of the Poorly Studied Desert Coral Snake, <em>Micrurus tschudii tschudii</em>, Supports the 3FTx/PLA<sub>2</sub> Dichotomy across <em>Micrurus</em> Venoms
Libia Sanz,
Davinia Pla,
Alicia Pérez,
Yania Rodríguez,
Alfonso Zavaleta,
Maria Salas,
Bruno Lomonte,
Juan J. Calvete
Affiliations
Libia Sanz
Laboratorio de Venómica Estructural y Funcional, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, CSIC, Jaime Roig 11, Valencia 46010, Spain
Davinia Pla
Laboratorio de Venómica Estructural y Funcional, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, CSIC, Jaime Roig 11, Valencia 46010, Spain
Alicia Pérez
Laboratorio de Venómica Estructural y Funcional, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, CSIC, Jaime Roig 11, Valencia 46010, Spain
Yania Rodríguez
Laboratorio de Venómica Estructural y Funcional, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, CSIC, Jaime Roig 11, Valencia 46010, Spain
Alfonso Zavaleta
Departamento Academico de Ciencias Celulares y Moleculares, Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofía, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima 31, Peru
Maria Salas
Departamento Academico de Ciencias Celulares y Moleculares, Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofía, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima 31, Peru
Bruno Lomonte
Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Jose 11501, Costa Rica
Juan J. Calvete
Laboratorio de Venómica Estructural y Funcional, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, CSIC, Jaime Roig 11, Valencia 46010, Spain
The venom proteome of the poorly studied desert coral snake Micrurus tschudii tschudii was unveiled using a venomic approach, which identified ≥38 proteins belonging to only four snake venom protein families. The three-finger toxins (3FTxs) constitute, both in number of isoforms (~30) and total abundance (93.6% of the venom proteome), the major protein family of the desert coral snake venom. Phospholipases A2 (PLA2s; seven isoforms, 4.1% of the venom proteome), 1–3 Kunitz-type proteins (1.6%), and 1–2 l-amino acid oxidases (LAO, 0.7%) complete the toxin arsenal of M. t. tschudii. Our results add to the growing evidence that the occurrence of two divergent venom phenotypes, i.e., 3FTx- and PLA2-predominant venom proteomes, may constitute a general trend across the cladogenesis of Micrurus. The occurrence of a similar pattern of venom phenotypic variability among true sea snake (Hydrophiinae) venoms suggests that the 3FTx/PLA2 dichotomy may be widely distributed among Elapidae venoms.
