Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
Gigascience. 2022 Dec 13;11. doi: 10.1093/gigascience/giac121.
Venomous snakes are important parts of the ecosystem, and their behavior and evolution have been shaped by their surrounding environments over the eons. This is reflected in their venoms, which are typically highly adapted for their biological niche, including their diet and defense mechanisms for deterring predators. Sub-Saharan Africa is rich in venomous snake species, of which many are dangerous to humans due to the high toxicity of their venoms and their ability to effectively deliver large amounts of venom into their victims via their bite. In this study, the venoms of 26 of sub-Saharan Africa's medically most relevant elapid and viper species were subjected to parallelized toxicovenomics analysis. The analysis included venom proteomics and in vitro functional characterization of whole venom toxicities, enabling a robust comparison of venom profiles between species. The data presented here corroborate previous studies and provide biochemical details for the clinical manifestations observed in envenomings by the 26 snake species. Moreover, two new venom proteomes (Naja anchietae and Echis leucogaster) are presented here for the first time. Combined, the presented data can help shine light on snake venom evolutionary trends and possibly be used to further improve or develop novel antivenoms.
毒蛇是生态系统的重要组成部分，它们的行为和进化是在亿万年的时间里被周围环境塑造的。这反映在它们的毒液中，毒液通常高度适应它们的生物小生境，包括它们的饮食和防御机制，以抵御捕食者。撒哈拉以南非洲拥有丰富的毒蛇物种，其中许多由于毒液的高毒性及其通过咬伤有效向受害者输送大量毒液的能力，对人类来说是危险的。在这项研究中，对 26 种撒哈拉以南非洲医学上最相关的眼镜蛇和蝰蛇物种的毒液进行了并行毒质组学分析。该分析包括毒液蛋白质组学和全毒液毒性的体外功能表征，使物种之间的毒液特征能够进行稳健比较。这里呈现的数据证实了之前的研究，并为 26 种蛇类咬伤的临床表现提供了生化细节。此外，这里还首次呈现了两个新的毒液蛋白质组（Naja anchietae 和 Echis leucogaster）。综合来看，这些呈现的数据可以帮助揭示蛇毒进化趋势，并可能用于进一步改进或开发新型抗蛇毒血清。
