Hybridization between Crotalus aquilus and Crotalus polystictus Species: A Comparison of Their Venom Toxicity and Enzymatic Activities

• Published in: Biology (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 11; no. 5; p. 661
• Main Authors: Roldán-Padrón, Octavio, Cruz-Pérez, Martha Sandra, Castro-Guillén, José Luis, García-Arredondo, José Alejandro, Mendiola-Olaya, Elizabeth, Saldaña-Gutiérrez, Carlos, Herrera-Paniagua, Patricia, Blanco-Labra, Alejandro, García-Gasca, Teresa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 26-04-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Adults; Antidotes; Captivity; Cellulose; Chymotrypsin; Crotalus aquilus; Crotalus polystictus; Elastase; Enzymatic activity; hyaluronidases; Hybridization; Hybrids; Lethal dose; Lethality; Morphology; Phospholipase A2; proteases; Proteins; rattlesnake; Serine proteinase; Snakes; Species; Taxonomy; Toxicity; Trypsin; Venom; venom enzymes; St Louis Missouri; United States > US; rattlesnake; hyaluronidases; venom enzymes; hybridization; phospholipase A2; proteases
• ISSN: 2079-7737; 2079-7737
• DOI: 10.3390/biology11050661

Hybridization is defined as the interbreeding of individuals from two populations distinguishable by one or more heritable characteristics. Snake hybridization represents an interesting opportunity to analyze variability and how genetics affect the venom components between parents and hybrids. Snake venoms exhibit a high degree of variability related to biological and biogeographical factors. The aim of this work is to analyze the protein patterns and enzymatic activity of some of the main hemotoxic enzymes in snake venoms, such as serine proteases (trypsin-like, chymotrypsin-like, and elastase-like), metalloproteases, hyaluronidases, and phospholipase A
. The lethal dose of 50 (LD
) of venom from the
(Cabf) and
(Cpbm) parents and their hybrids in captivity was determined, and phenetic analysis is also conducted, which showed a high similarity between the hybrids and
. The protein banding patterns and enzymatic activity analyze by zymography resulted in a combination of proteins from the parental venoms in the hybrids, with variability among them. In some cases, the enzymatic activity is higher in the hybrids with a lower LD
than in the parents, indicating higher toxicity. These data show the variability among snake venoms and suggest that hybridization is an important factor in changes in protein concentration, peptide variability, and enzymatic activity that affect toxicity and lethality.