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Mojave toxin in venom of Crotalus helleri (Southern Pacific Rattlesnake): molecular and geographic characterization.

Publication ,  Journal Article
French, WJ; Hayes, WK; Bush, SP; Cardwell, MD; Bader, JO; Rael, ED
Published in: Toxicon
December 1, 2004

Mojave toxin (MT) was detected in five of 25 Crotalus helleri (Southern Pacific rattlesnake) sampled using anti-MT antibodies and nucleotide sequence analysis. All of the venoms that were positive for MT were collected from Mt San Jacinto in Riverside Co., California. Since this population is geographically isolated from C. scutulatus scutulatus (Mojave rattlesnake), it is unlikely that this finding is due to recent hybridization. MT concentration differences between C. helleri and C. s. scutulatus reflected the presence of 'isoforms' of the toxin in the venom. Whereas C. s. scutulatus generally has several isoforms of the toxin (detected by Western blotting), only one 'isoform' that focused at pI 5.1 was detected in C. helleri. Both acidic and basic subunits of MT sequences were obtained from C. helleri DNA with primers specific for MT, but only from snakes that had MT in their venom. The sequence identity of the C. helleri acidic subunit to the C. s. scutulatus subunit was 84.9%, whereas the sequence identity of the C. helleri basic subunit was 97% to the C. s. scutulatus basic subunit. Using casein, fibrin, and hide powder azure as substrates, assays for proteolytic activity suggested that C. helleri possesses several different types of metalloproteinases in their venom. However, proteolytic activity was not detected, or present in reduced amounts, in specimens having MT. Clinical neurotoxicity following envenomation by certain populations of C. helleri may be due to MT.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Toxicon

DOI

ISSN

0041-0101

Publication Date

December 1, 2004

Volume

44

Issue

7

Start / End Page

781 / 791

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Toxicology
  • Species Specificity
  • Sequence Homology
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Protein Isoforms
  • Organic Chemicals
  • Neurotoxins
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Geography
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
French, W. J., Hayes, W. K., Bush, S. P., Cardwell, M. D., Bader, J. O., & Rael, E. D. (2004). Mojave toxin in venom of Crotalus helleri (Southern Pacific Rattlesnake): molecular and geographic characterization. Toxicon, 44(7), 781–791. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2004.08.008
French, Wendy J., William K. Hayes, Sean P. Bush, Michael D. Cardwell, Julia O. Bader, and Eppie D. Rael. “Mojave toxin in venom of Crotalus helleri (Southern Pacific Rattlesnake): molecular and geographic characterization.Toxicon 44, no. 7 (December 1, 2004): 781–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2004.08.008.
French WJ, Hayes WK, Bush SP, Cardwell MD, Bader JO, Rael ED. Mojave toxin in venom of Crotalus helleri (Southern Pacific Rattlesnake): molecular and geographic characterization. Toxicon. 2004 Dec 1;44(7):781–91.
French, Wendy J., et al. “Mojave toxin in venom of Crotalus helleri (Southern Pacific Rattlesnake): molecular and geographic characterization.Toxicon, vol. 44, no. 7, Dec. 2004, pp. 781–91. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2004.08.008.
French WJ, Hayes WK, Bush SP, Cardwell MD, Bader JO, Rael ED. Mojave toxin in venom of Crotalus helleri (Southern Pacific Rattlesnake): molecular and geographic characterization. Toxicon. 2004 Dec 1;44(7):781–791.
Journal cover image

Published In

Toxicon

DOI

ISSN

0041-0101

Publication Date

December 1, 2004

Volume

44

Issue

7

Start / End Page

781 / 791

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Toxicology
  • Species Specificity
  • Sequence Homology
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Protein Isoforms
  • Organic Chemicals
  • Neurotoxins
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Geography