CIIMAR/CIMAR, Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos, s/n, Porto 4450-208, Portugal; Department of Biology, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, s/n, Porto 4169-007, Portugal.
Evolutionary and Translational Venomics Laboratory, CSIC, Jaume Roig, 11, 46010, Valencia, Spain.
Genomics. 2019 Dec;111(6):1720-1727. doi: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2018.11.026. Epub 2018 Dec 1.
The Harderian gland is a cephalic structure, widely distributed among vertebrates. In snakes, the Harderian gland is anatomically connected to the vomeronasal organ via the nasolacrimal duct, and in some species can be larger than the eyes. The function of the Harderian gland remains elusive, but it has been proposed to play a role in the production of saliva, pheromones, thermoregulatory lipids and growth factors, among others. Here, we have profiled the transcriptomes of the Harderian glands of three non-front-fanged colubroid snakes from Cuba: Caraiba andreae (Cuban Lesser Racer); Cubophis cantherigerus (Cuban Racer); and Tretanorhinus variabilis (Caribbean Water Snake), using Illumina HiSeq2000 100 bp paired-end. In addition to ribosomal and non-characterized proteins, the most abundant transcripts encode putative transport/binding, lipocalin/lipocalin-like, and bactericidal/permeability-increasing-like proteins. Transcripts coding for putative canonical toxins described in venomous snakes were also identified. This transcriptional profile suggests a more complex function than previously recognized for this enigmatic organ.
哈德腺是一种头部结构，广泛分布于脊椎动物中。在蛇类中，哈德腺通过鼻泪管与鼻腭管相连，在某些物种中，其体积可以超过眼睛。哈德腺的功能仍然难以捉摸，但它被认为在唾液、信息素、热调节脂质和生长因子等物质的产生中发挥作用。在这里，我们使用 Illumina HiSeq2000 100bp 配对末端测序技术，对来自古巴的三种无前毒牙的游蛇科蛇类（Caraiba andreae（古巴小游蛇）；Cubophis cantherigerus（古巴游蛇）；和 Tretanorhinus variabilis（加勒比海蛇））的哈德腺转录组进行了分析。除了核糖体和非特征性蛋白外，丰度最高的转录本编码了假定的转运/结合蛋白、脂联素/脂联素样蛋白和杀菌/通透性增加样蛋白。还鉴定出了编码毒蛇中描述的假定经典毒素的转录本。这种转录组谱表明，这个神秘的器官的功能比以前认为的更为复杂。
