G. Faure et al., THE ORIGIN OF THE DIVERSITY OF CROTOXIN ISOFORMS IN THE VENOM OF CROTALUS-DURISSUS-TERRIFICUS, European journal of biochemistry, 223(1), 1994, pp. 161-164
Crotoxin, the main toxin from the venom of the South American rattlesn
ake Crotalus durissus terrificus, is a beta-neurotoxin which consists
of the non-covalent association of two subunits: a phospholipase A(2)
subunit B (CB), and a non-enzymic subunit A (CA). We have previously p
urified and characterized several isoforms of each subunit of crotoxin
in the venom collected from numerous snakes. Furthermore, three cDNAs
encoding two CB isoforms and the precursor, pro-CA, of subunit A have
been isolated from a cDNA library prepared from a single venom gland
of Crotalus durissus terrificus. The aim of this study is to analyse a
n individual snake venom from an animal that has been used to construc
t a cDNA library. Several isoforms of subunit A and two isoforms of su
bunit B were isolated and compared to purified and characterized subun
it isoforms from pooled venom. The result of this study showed that th
e multiplicity and the diversity of crotoxin isoforms result from post
-translational modifications occurring on a precursor and from the exp
ression of different messenger RNAs present in an individual snake. It
allowed for the identification of the two CB isoforms encoding cDNAs
expressed in the individual venom with two isoforms from pooled venom,
CBc and probably CBa2, that belong to two classes of crotoxin complex
es which can be distinguished biochemically and pharmacologically.