title: Venoms of Micrurus coral snakes: Evolutionary trends in compositional patterns emerging from proteomic analyses.
abstract: The application of proteomic tools to the study of snake venoms has led to an impressive growth in the knowledge about their composition (venomics), immunogenicity (antivenomics), and toxicity (toxicovenomics). About one-third of all venomic studies have focused on elapid species, especially those of the Old World. The New World elapids, represented by coral snakes, have been less studied. In recent years, however, a number of venomic studies on Micrurus species from North, Central, and South America have been conducted. An overview of these studies is presented, highlighting the emergence of some patterns and trends concerning their compositional, functional, and immunological characteristics. Results gathered to date, encompassing 18 out of the approximately 85 species of Micrurus, reveal a dichotomy of venom phenotypes regarding the relative abundance of the omnipresent phospholipases A2(PLA2) and 'three-finger' toxins (3FTx): a group of species express a PLA2-predominant venom composition, while others display a 3FTx-predominant compositional pattern. These two divergent toxin expression phenotypes appear to be related to phylogenetic positions and geographical distributions along a North-South axis in the Americas, but further studies encompassing a higher number of species are needed to assess these hypotheses. The two contrasting phenotypes also show correlations with some toxic functionalities, complexity in the diversity of proteoforms, and immunological cross-recognition patterns. The biological significance for the emergence of a dichotomy of venom compositions within Micrurus, in some cases observed even among sympatric species that inhabit relatively small geographic areas, represents a puzzling and challenging area of research which warrants further studies.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José 11501, Costa Rica. Electronic address: bruno.lomonte@ucr.ac.cr.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lomonte
authors.affiliation: Programa de Ofidismo y Escorpionismo, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín 050010, Colombia.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rey-Suárez
authors.affiliation: Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José 11501, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Julián
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.affiliation: Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José 11501, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Mahmood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sasa
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, CSIC, Valencia 46010, Spain.
authors.forename: Davinia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pla
authors.affiliation: Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José 11501, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca 62210, Morelos, Mexico.
authors.forename: Melisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bénard-Valle
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, CSIC, Valencia 46010, Spain.
authors.forename: Libia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sanz
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Bioquímica Médica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil; Instituto Vital Brazil, Niteroi, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Corrêa-Netto
authors.affiliation: Programa de Ofidismo y Escorpionismo, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín 050010, Colombia.
authors.forename: Vitelbina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Núñez
authors.affiliation: Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José 11501, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alape-Girón
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca 62210, Morelos, Mexico.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alagón
authors.affiliation: Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José 11501, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: José María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, CSIC, Valencia 46010, Spain. Electronic address: jcalvete@ibv.csic.es.
authors.forename: Juan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Calvete
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004546:Elapid Venoms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D017815:Elapidae; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D019418:Evolution, Chemical; D040901:Proteomics
chemical_list: D004546:Elapid Venoms
keywords: Coral snake; Elapidae; Micrurus; Proteomics; Snake venom; Toxin; Venomics