title: Venom of the Coral Snake Micrurus clarki: Proteomic Profile, Toxicity, Immunological Cross-Neutralization, and Characterization of a Three-Finger Toxin.
abstract: Micrurus clarki is an uncommon coral snake distributed from the Southeastern Pacific of Costa Rica to Western Colombia, for which no information on its venom could be found in the literature. Using a 'venomics' approach, proteins of at least nine families were identified, with a moderate predominance of three-finger toxins (3FTx; 48.2%) over phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂; 36.5%). Comparison of this venom profile with those of other Micrurus species suggests that it may represent a more balanced, 'intermediate' type within the dichotomy between 3FTx- and PLA₂-predominant venoms. M. clarki venom was strongly cross-recognized and, accordingly, efficiently neutralized by an equine therapeutic antivenom against M. nigrocinctus, revealing their high antigenic similarity. Lethal activity for mice could be reproduced by a PLA₂ venom fraction, but, unexpectedly, not by fractions corresponding to 3FTxs. The most abundant venom component, hereby named clarkitoxin-I, was identified as a short-chain (type I) 3FTx, devoid of lethal effect in mice, whose target remains to be defined. Its amino acid sequence of 66 residues shows high similarity with predicted sequences of venom gland transcripts described for M. fulvius, M. browni, and M. diastema.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José 11501, Costa Rica. bruno.lomonte@ucr.ac.cr.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lomonte
authors.affiliation: Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José 11501, Costa Rica. msasamarin@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mahmood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sasa
authors.affiliation: Programa de Ofidismo y Escorpionismo, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín 050010, Colombia. ofidpa@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rey-Suárez
authors.affiliation: Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José 11501, Costa Rica. wenjbq@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bryan
authors.affiliation: Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José 11501, Costa Rica. jose.gutierrez@ucr.ac.cr.
authors.forename: José María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000997:Antivenins / Q000276:immunology*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003429:Cross Reactions / Q000276:immunology*; D004546:Elapid Venoms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000633:toxicity; D017815:Elapidae; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D051379:Mice; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D054467:Phospholipases A2 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000633:toxicity; D020543:Proteome / Q000032:analysis*; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D014118:Toxins, Biological / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D000997:Antivenins; D004546:Elapid Venoms; D020543:Proteome; D014118:Toxins, Biological; C053972:micrurus venom; D054467:Phospholipases A2
keywords: Elapidae; Micrurus; antivenom; monadal coral snake; neutralization; proteome; toxin; venom