Zancolli Giulia, Sanz Libia, Calvete Juan J, Wüster Wolfgang
Molecular Ecology and Fisheries Genetics Lab, School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK.
Venomics and Structural Proteomics Laboratory, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, CSIC, Jaume Roig 11, Valencia 46010, Spain.
Toxins (Basel). 2017 May 28;9(6):179. doi: 10.3390/toxins9060179.
Venom research has attracted an increasing interest in disparate fields, from drug development and pharmacology, to evolutionary biology and ecology, and rational antivenom production. Advances in "-omics" technologies have allowed the characterization of an increasing number of animal venoms, but the methodology currently available is suboptimal for large-scale comparisons of venom profiles. Here, we describe a fast, reproducible and semi-automated protocol for investigating snake venom variability, especially at the intraspecific level, using the Agilent Bioanalyzer on-chip technology. Our protocol generated a phenotype matrix which can be used for robust statistical analysis and correlations of venom variation with ecological correlates, or other extrinsic factors. We also demonstrate the ease and utility of combining on-chip technology with previously fractionated venoms for detection of specific individual toxin proteins. Our study describes a novel strategy for rapid venom discrimination and analysis of compositional variation at multiple taxonomic levels, allowing researchers to tackle evolutionary questions and unveiling the drivers of the incredible biodiversity of venoms.
毒液研究在从药物开发与药理学到进化生物学与生态学以及合理抗蛇毒血清生产等不同领域都引发了越来越浓厚的兴趣。“组学”技术的进步使得越来越多的动物毒液得以被表征，但目前可用的方法对于大规模比较毒液图谱而言并不理想。在此，我们描述了一种快速、可重复且半自动化的方案，用于利用安捷伦生物分析仪芯片技术研究蛇毒变异性，尤其是在种内水平。我们的方案生成了一个表型矩阵，可用于进行稳健的统计分析以及毒液变异与生态关联或其他外在因素的相关性分析。我们还展示了将芯片技术与先前分级分离的毒液相结合用于检测特定单个毒素蛋白的简便性和实用性。我们的研究描述了一种用于快速毒液鉴别和在多个分类水平上分析成分变异的新策略，使研究人员能够解决进化问题并揭示毒液惊人生物多样性的驱动因素。
