title: Extreme venom variation in Middle Eastern vipers: a proteomics comparison of Eristicophis macmahonii, Pseudocerastes fieldi and Pseudocerastes persicus.
abstract: Venoms of the viperid sister genera Eristicophis and Pseudocerastes are poorly studied despite their anecdotal reputation for producing severe or even lethal envenomations. This is due in part to the remote and politically unstable regions that they occupy. All species contained are sit and wait ambush feeders. Thus, this study examined their venoms through proteomics techniques in order to establish if this feeding ecology, and putatively low levels of gene flow, have resulted in significant variations in venom profile. The techniques indeed revealed extreme venom variation. This has immediate implications as only one antivenom is made (using the venom of Pseudocerastes persicus) yet the proteomic variation suggests that it would be of only limited use for the other species, even the sister species Pseudocerastes fieldi. The high degree of variation however also points toward these species being rich resources for novel compounds which may have use as lead molecules in drug design and development.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results show extreme venom variation between these closely related snakes. These results have direct implications for the treatment of the envenomed patient.
authors.affiliation: Venom Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4520, Australia; HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan; Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4520, Australia.
authors.forename: Syed A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: Venom Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4520, Australia; Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4520, Australia.
authors.forename: Timothy N W
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: Venom Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4520, Australia; Alistair Reid Venom Research Unit, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK.
authors.forename: Nicholas R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Casewell
authors.affiliation: Venom Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4520, Australia.
authors.forename: Dolyce H W
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Low
authors.affiliation: Venom Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4520, Australia.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.affiliation: Venom Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4520, Australia.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baumann
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Yasouj University, 75914 Yasouj, Iran.
authors.forename: Behzad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fathinia
authors.affiliation: Venom Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4520, Australia; Life Sciences, Hogeschool Inholland Amsterdam, 1081 HV, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jeroen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Visser
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nouwens
authors.affiliation: Venom Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4520, Australia.
authors.forename: Iwan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hendrikx
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4520, Australia.
authors.forename: Alun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4520, Australia.
authors.forename: Eba
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Undheim
authors.affiliation: Venom Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4520, Australia; Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4520, Australia. Electronic address: bgfry@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Bryan G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Fry
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020543:Proteome / Q000378:metabolism*; D013045:Species Specificity; D014757:Viper Venoms / Q000378:metabolism*; D017819:Viperidae / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D020543:Proteome; D014757:Viper Venoms
keywords: 2D gel; Antivenom; Proteomics; Toxin; Venom; Viper