Transcriptome Analysis of Deinagkistrodon Acutus Venomous Gland Focusing on Cellular Structure and Functional Aspects Using Expressed Sequence Tags

Overview

Journal BMC Genomics

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Genetics

Date 2006 Jun 17

PMID 16776837

Citations 19

Authors

Bing Zhang

Qinghua Liu

Wei Yin

Xiaowei Zhang

Yijun Huang

Yingfeng Luo

Pengxin Qiu

Xingwen Su

Jun Yu

Songnian Hu

GuangMei Yan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The snake venom gland is a specialized organ, which synthesizes and secretes the complex and abundant toxin proteins. Though gene expression in the snake venom gland has been extensively studied, the focus has been on the components of the venom. As far as the molecular mechanism of toxin secretion and metabolism is concerned, we still knew a little. Therefore, a fundamental question being arisen is what genes are expressed in the snake venom glands besides many toxin components?

Results: To examine extensively the transcripts expressed in the venom gland of Deinagkistrodon acutus and unveil the potential of its products on cellular structure and functional aspects, we generated 8696 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from a non-normalized cDNA library. All ESTs were clustered into 3416 clusters, of which 40.16% of total ESTs belong to recognized toxin-coding sequences; 39.85% are similar to cellular transcripts; and 20.00% have no significant similarity to any known sequences. By analyzing cellular functional transcripts, we found high expression of some venom related genes and gland-specific genes, such as calglandulin EF-hand protein gene and protein disulfide isomerase gene. The transcripts of creatine kinase and NADH dehydrogenase were also identified at high level. Moreover, abundant cellular structural proteins similar to mammalian muscle tissues were also identified. The phylogenetic analysis of two snake venom toxin families of group III metalloproteinase and serine protease in suborder Colubroidea showed an early single recruitment event in the viperids evolutionary process.

Conclusion: Gene cataloguing and profiling of the venom gland of Deinagkistrodon acutus is an essential requisite to provide molecular reagents for functional genomic studies needed for elucidating mechanisms of action of toxins and surveying physiological events taking place in the very specialized secretory tissue. So this study provides a first global view of the genetic programs for the venom gland of Deinagkistrodon acutus described so far and an insight into molecular mechanism of toxin secreting.

Citing Articles

Venom Gland Transcriptome Assembly and Characterization for (Kuhl, 1824), the Malayan Pit Viper from Malaysia: Unravelling Toxin Gene Diversity in a Medically Important Basal Crotaline.

Tan C, Tan K, Ng T, Tan N, Chong H Toxins (Basel). 2023; 15(5).

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Bibliometric Analysis of Literature in Snake Venom-Related Research Worldwide (1933-2022).

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Analysis of the Composition of Snake Venom Based on Proteomics, and Its Antithrombotic Activity and Toxicity Studies.

Huang J, Zhao M, Xue C, Liang J, Huang F Molecules. 2022; 27(7).

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Analysis of High Molecular Mass Compounds from the Spider Venom Gland. A Transcriptomic and MS ID Approach.

Estrada-Gomez S, Vargas-Munoz L, Segura Latorre C, Saldarriaga-Cordoba M, Arenas-Gomez C Toxins (Basel). 2021; 13(7).

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Identification of unusual peptides with new Cys frameworks in the venom of the cold-water sea anemone Cnidopus japonicus.

Babenko V, Mikov A, Manuvera V, Anikanov N, Kovalchuk S, Andreev Y Sci Rep. 2017; 7(1):14534.

PMID: 29109403 PMC: 5673964. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-14961-1.

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