title: Neurotropic effects of venoms and other factors that promote prey acquisition.
abstract: Mammals envenomed by either the Eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) or the cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus) exhibit an immediate but transitory pupillar contraction, a parasympathomimetic effect mediated through the ciliary ganglion that can be prevented by a retrobulbar injection of anesthetic. The venom of the cottonmouth injected into the lymph spaces of the frog (Rana pipiens) produces an immediate and total collapse of the lung sacs. Applied locally to the surface, it produces a constriction that eventually collapses the entire sac. Tests of venoms and toxins from both anterior and posterior parts of the venom apparatus indicate that the lung-collapsing moiety originates in the accessory, not the main portion of the venom gland. This is the first example of a functional specialization within the whole structure. It seems that this factor is elaborated primarily in snakes that prey upon frogs, although insufficient data are available from this study to confirm this. In both reptile species, the predatory strike is accompanied by an immediate effect, perhaps mediated by the parasympathetic nervous system, designed to incapacitate the prey and facilitate capture. These effects cannot now be attributed to neurotoxins because the effect of the former is transitory (and not lethal) and neither has been purified sufficiently to determine potency or structure. Both take part in securing, but not killing, the prey, and both directly oppose the sympathetic nervous system "fright-fight/flight" response. Evidence is presented to support the possibility that known epigenetic mechanisms are capable of effecting heritable changes in gene expression that could allow for the development of factors that facilitate prey acquisition and promote rapid adaptation to environmental change.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA. jdjanuary@cox.net
authors.forename: Joseph Francis
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Gennaro
authors.forename: Hollis Pace
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Ernest Raymond
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Casey
authors.forename: William Kent
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Hayes
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D017836:Agkistrodon; D000818:Animals; D017837:Bothrops; D002415:Cats; D017839:Crotalus; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D004924:Escape Reaction; D005397:Fish Venoms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005400:Fishes, Poisonous; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects; D008978:Mollusk Venoms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000187:drug effects; D049831:Octopodiformes; D010275:Parasympathetic Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects; D011235:Predatory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D011680:Pupil / Q000187:drug effects; D011817:Rabbits; D011894:Rana pipiens; D012910:Snake Venoms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017819:Viperidae
chemical_list: D005397:Fish Venoms; D008978:Mollusk Venoms; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D012910:Snake Venoms