cDNA cloning and sequence analysis of Lys-49 phospholipase A(2) from Agkistrodon acutus

Total RNA was extracted from venom glands of Agkistrodon acutus. The cDNA e ncoding Lys-49 phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) was amplified by reverse transcr iptional polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The cDNA was cloned into the p GEMT-vector and sequenced. The open reading frame (ORF) of Lys-49 PLA(2) co nsists of 414 bp encoding 138 amino acids, which includes a signal peptide of 16 amino acids and a matured peptide of 122 amino acids. It shows 76% id entity in amino acids with another reported Lys-49 PLA(2). Because residue 49 in mature peptide is Lysine, it probably possesses myotoxicity. These re sults indicate there are at least two kinds of myotoxin in the venom of A. acutus. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.