The Tamaulipan rock rattlesnake (Crotalus lepidus morulus) is a small, cold-tolerant, mountain rattlesnake that occupies the Sierra Madre Oriental in southwestern Tamaulipas, central Nuevo Leon, and southeastern Coahuila in Mexico. The aim of the present study was to analyze and compare the protein profile and proteolytic activity of 16 individual and four pooled (representative of four regions Galeana, Santiago, Zaragoza, and Tamaulipas) venom samples of C. l. morulus from snakes collected in the northeast of Mexico. Individual and pooled venoms of C. l. morulus were analyzed by SDS-PAGE, gelatinolytic, and fibrinogenolytic assays. Additionally, the four pooled venoms were tested by 2-D electrophoresis and caseinolytic and hemorrhagic assays. Individually, venoms of C. l. morulus showed variation in their electrophoretic profile and proteolytic activity without an evident geographic trend. When comparing the pooled samples, venom from the south portion of the range (Zaragoza and Tamaulipas) showed higher proteolytic activity than samples from the central and north portion of the range (Galeana and Santiago, respectively). Furthermore, pooled venoms of C. l. morulus showed lower variation in electrophoretic profile than individual venoms. It is important to note that this is the first report of protein profile and enzymatic activities of venom of C. l. morulus.
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Physiology and Physiological Ecology|
December 30 2013
Intra-specific Variation in the Protein Composition and Proteolytic Activity of Venom of Crotalus lepidus morulus from the Northeast of Mexico
Miguel Borja;
Miguel Borja
1 Departamento de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Blvd. V. Carranza y C. Valdés, República, 25280, Saltillo, Coahuila, México; E-mail: (MB) alessandro_53@hotmail.com; and (AZC) alejandro_zugasti@uadec.edu.mx. Send reprint requests to MB.
2 Laboratorio de Inmunolgía, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Blvd. V. Carranza y C. Valdés, República, 25280, Saltillo, Coahuila, México.
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David Lazcano;
David Lazcano
3 Laboratorio de Herpetología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Av. Pedro de Alba, Ciudad Universitaria, 66450, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, México.
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Gerardo Martínez-Romero;
Gerardo Martínez-Romero
1 Departamento de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Blvd. V. Carranza y C. Valdés, República, 25280, Saltillo, Coahuila, México; E-mail: (MB) alessandro_53@hotmail.com; and (AZC) alejandro_zugasti@uadec.edu.mx. Send reprint requests to MB.
2 Laboratorio de Inmunolgía, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Blvd. V. Carranza y C. Valdés, República, 25280, Saltillo, Coahuila, México.
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Jesús Morlett;
Jesús Morlett
4 Laboratorio de Diagnostico Molecular y Análisis Clínicos, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Blvd. V. Carranza y C. Valdés, República, 25280, Saltillo, Coahuila, México.
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Elda Sánchez;
Elda Sánchez
5 National Natural Toxins Research Center, Biology Department, Texas A&M University–Kingsville, MSC 158, 975 West Avenue B, Kingsville, Texas 78363.
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Ana C. Cepeda-Nieto;
Ana C. Cepeda-Nieto
6 Laboratorio de Biología Molecular, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Francisco Murguía Sur, 205, 25000, Col. Centro, Saltillo, Coahuila, México.
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Yolanda Garza-García;
Yolanda Garza-García
1 Departamento de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Blvd. V. Carranza y C. Valdés, República, 25280, Saltillo, Coahuila, México; E-mail: (MB) alessandro_53@hotmail.com; and (AZC) alejandro_zugasti@uadec.edu.mx. Send reprint requests to MB.
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Alejandro Zugasti-Cruz
Alejandro Zugasti-Cruz
1 Departamento de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Blvd. V. Carranza y C. Valdés, República, 25280, Saltillo, Coahuila, México; E-mail: (MB) alessandro_53@hotmail.com; and (AZC) alejandro_zugasti@uadec.edu.mx. Send reprint requests to MB.
2 Laboratorio de Inmunolgía, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Blvd. V. Carranza y C. Valdés, República, 25280, Saltillo, Coahuila, México.
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Copeia (2013) 2013 (4): 707–716.
Citation
Miguel Borja, David Lazcano, Gerardo Martínez-Romero, Jesús Morlett, Elda Sánchez, Ana C. Cepeda-Nieto, Yolanda Garza-García, Alejandro Zugasti-Cruz; Intra-specific Variation in the Protein Composition and Proteolytic Activity of Venom of Crotalus lepidus morulus from the Northeast of Mexico. Copeia 1 December 2013; 2013 (4): 707–716. doi: https://doi.org/10.1643/OT-13-005
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