Santibáñez-López Carlos E, Francke Oscar F, Ureta Carolina, Possani Lourival D
Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Avenida Universidad 2001, Apartado Postal 510-3, Cuernavaca Morelos 62210, Mexico.
Colección Nacional de Arácnidos, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Copilco, Coyoacán A.P. 70-233, Distrito Federal 04510, Mexico.
Toxins (Basel). 2015 Dec 24;8(1):2. doi: 10.3390/toxins8010002.
Scorpions are among the oldest terrestrial arthropods, which are distributed worldwide, except for Antarctica and some Pacific islands. Scorpion envenomation represents a public health problem in several parts of the world. Mexico harbors the highest diversity of scorpions in the world, including some of the world's medically important scorpion species. The systematics and diversity of Mexican scorpion fauna has not been revised in the past decade; and due to recent and exhaustive collection efforts as part of different ongoing major revisionary systematic projects, our understanding of this diversity has changed compared with previous assessments. Given the presence of several medically important scorpion species, the study of their venom in the country is also important. In the present contribution, the diversity of scorpion species in Mexico is revised and updated based on several new systematic contributions; 281 different species are recorded. Commentaries on recent venomic, ecological and behavioral studies of Mexican scorpions are also provided. A list containing the most important peptides identified from 16 different species is included. A graphical representation of the different types of components found in these venoms is also revised. A map with hotspots showing the current knowledge on scorpion distribution and areas explored in Mexico is also provided.
蝎子是最古老的陆生节肢动物之一，除南极洲和一些太平洋岛屿外，分布于世界各地。蝎子蜇伤在世界上的一些地区是一个公共卫生问题。墨西哥拥有世界上最多样化的蝎子种类，包括一些世界上具有重要医学意义的蝎子物种。在过去十年中，墨西哥蝎子动物群的分类学和多样性尚未得到修订；由于作为不同正在进行的主要修订分类学项目的一部分，最近进行了详尽的收集工作，与之前的评估相比，我们对这种多样性的理解已经发生了变化。鉴于存在几种具有重要医学意义的蝎子物种，对该国蝎子毒液的研究也很重要。在本论文中，基于几项新的分类学研究成果，对墨西哥蝎子物种的多样性进行了修订和更新；记录了281种不同的物种。还提供了关于墨西哥蝎子最近的毒液学、生态学和行为学研究的评论。列出了从16种不同物种中鉴定出的最重要的肽。还修订了这些毒液中发现的不同类型成分的图表。还提供了一张热点地图，展示了墨西哥目前关于蝎子分布和探索区域的知识。
