Molecular phylogeography of endangered sharp-snouted pitviper (Deinagkistrodon acutus; Reptilia, Viperidae) in Mainland China

Using phylogenetic and population genetic approaches, the present study reports the phylogeographic structure of the sharp-snouted pitviper (Deinagkistrodon acutus), a threatened snake species with commercial and medicinal importance in China. The entire mitochondrial ND2 gene (NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2) sequences of 86 individuals of D. acutus from 14 localities across its range in China were determined. Based on the results of phylogenetic analyses, distribution of diagnostic sites, haplotype network, and AMOVA hierarchical analysis, an cast-west division of the whole D. acutus population could be observed. Geographically, a line formed by a lake, river, and mountain chain (the Poyang Lake, Gan River to the southern end of the Wuyi Mountains), results in vicariance and approximately vertically splits the range into two and the whole population into two main lineages (western and eastern). The bifurcating tree suggested generally west to east dispersal trend. The data fit the isolation by distance (IBD) model well. Star-like clusters in haplotype network, significantly negative values of Fs statistics, and unimodal mismatch distributions all suggest recent demographic expansions in four areas. The results show that isolation, dispersal, bottleneck, and expansion jointly constitute the history of D. acutus. In a haplotype network, the excessive predominance of central haplotypes, few medium-frequency haplotypes, predominance (73.1 %) of the singletons among the derived haplotypes, most of which are connected to the central haplotype by only one mutational step, unsymmetrical campanulate unimodal curve of mismatch distributions and leftwards shift of the peaks, all suggest that the whole D. acutus population is a young population with low genetic diversity. Based on the data, the first priority for conservation action should be given to the Huangshan unit. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

蝰科(Viperidae)蝮亚科(Crotalinae)线粒体12S rRNA基因序列分析及其系统发育

对蝮亚科(蛇岛蝮Gloydius shedaoensis Zhao、黑眉蝮Gloydius saxatilis Emelianov、乌苏里蝮Gloydius ussurriensis Emelianov、竹叶青Trimeresurus stejnegeri Schmidt和分别来自不同地区的尖吻蝮Deinagkistrodon acutus Guenther、短尾蝮Gloydius brevicaudus Stejneger各两条)6种蛇共8个个体测定、分析了约370bp线粒体12S rRNA基因序列,以游蛇科链蛇属半棱鳞链蛇Dinodon semicarinatus序列为外群构建分子系统树。

湖南产尖吻蝮蛇蛇毒出血毒素性质和溶液构象的研究

经sephadex G-75凝胶过滤、QAE-Sephadex A-50和CM-Sephadex C-25离子交换步骤,从湖南产尖吻蝮（Deinagkistrodon acutus）蛇毒中纯化出两个出血毒素,被命名为HaHT-1和HaHT-2。用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳（PAGE）和SDS-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳鉴定呈单一的蛋白染色带。两个出血毒素的分子量相同,均为 23.5kDa。等电聚焦电泳测定它们的等电点分别为5.6和5.2。HaHT-1和HaHT-2均具有较强的出血活性（MHD分别为0.5和0.8μg）,都有酪蛋白水解活力,无精氨酸酯酶、胆碱酯酶和磷脂酶A_2活力。用CD谱测定HaHT-l和HaHT-2的溶液构象,HaHT-1的α-螺旋、β-折叠和无规卷曲分别为36.9％、35.5％和27.6％,而HaHT-2的α-螺旋、β-折叠和无规卷曲分别为23.4％、31.3％和45.3％。pH的变化对它们构象有影响,在pH2-11范围内,酸性比碱性大。随着酸性或碱性的增加其α-螺旋含量减少,无规卷曲增加,β-折叠结构变化不大。

Unmasking venom gland transcriptomes in reptile venoms

While structural studies of reptile venom toxins can be achieved using lyophilized venom samples, until now the cloning of precursor cDNAs required sacrifice of the specimen for dissection of the venom glands. Here we describe a simple and rapid technique that unmasks venom protein mRNAs present in lyophilized venom samples. To illustrate the technique we have RT-PCR-amplified a range of venom protein transcripts from cDNA libraries derived from the venoms of a hemotoxic snake, the Chinese copperhead (Deinagkistrodon acutus), a neurotoxic snake, the black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis), and a venomous lizard, the Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum). These include a metalloproteinase and phospholipase A2 from D. acutus, a potassium channel blocker, dendrotoxin K, from D. polylepis, and exendin-4 from H. suspectum. These findings imply that the apparent absence and/or lability of mRNA in complex biological matrices is not always real and paves the way for accelerated acquisition of molecular genetic data on venom toxins for scientific and potential therapeutic purposes without sacrifice of endangered herpetofauna.

Cloning of cDNAs and molecular characterisation of C-type lectin-like proteins from snake venoms

C-type lectin-like proteins (CTLPs) isolated from snake venoms are the largest and most complex non-mammalian vertebrate C-type lectin-like domain family. In the present study, we simultaneously amplified four cDNAs encoding different types of CTLP subunits from the venoms of two different species of snakes by RT-PCR with a single sense primer and a nested universal primer - two CTLP subunit-encoding cDNAs were cloned from Deinagkistrodon acutus venom and two from Agkistrodon halys Pallas venom. All four cloned CTLP subunits exhibited typical motifs in their corresponding domain regions but with relatively-low sequence similarities to each other. Compared with previously-published CTLPs, the four cloned CTLPs subunits showed slight variations in the calcium-binding sites and the disulphide bonding patterns. To our knowledge, these data constitute the first example of co-expression of CTLP platelet glycoprotein Ib-binding subunits and coagulation factors in Agkistrodon halys Pallas venom.

Milkshark (Rhizoprionodon acutus) microsatellite genotype data (six loci) from samples collected from five locations in eastern Australia and central Indonesia.

Biodiversity of sharks in the tropical Indo-Pacific is high, but species-specific information to assist sustainable resource exploitation is scarce. The null hypothesis of population genetic homogeneity was tested for scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini, n=244) and the milkshark (Rhizoprionodon acutus, n=209) from northern and eastern Australia, using nuclear (S. lewini, eight microsatellite loci; R. acutus, six loci) and mitochondrial gene markers (873 base pairs of NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4). We were unable to reject genetic homogeneity for S. lewini, which was as expected based on previous studies of this species. Less expected were similar results for R. acutus, which is more benthic and less vagile than S. lewini. These features are probably driving the genetic break found between Australian and central Indonesian R. acutus (F-statistics; mtDNA, 0.751 to 0.903; microsatellite loci, 0.038 to 0.047). Our results support the spatially-homogeneous management plan for shark species in Queensland, but caution is advised for species yet to be studied.

Negligible evidence for regional genetic population structure for two shark species Rhizoprionodon acutus (Rüppell, 1837) and Sphyrna lewini (Griffith & Smith, 1834) with contrasting biology

Biodiversity of sharks in the tropical Indo-Pacific is high, but species-specific information to assist sustainable resource exploitation is scarce. The null hypothesis of population genetic homogeneity was tested for scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini, n = 237) and the milk shark (Rhizoprionodon acutus, n = 207) from northern and eastern Australia, using nuclear (S. lewini, eight microsatellite loci; R. acutus, six loci) and mitochondrial gene markers (873 base pairs of NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4). We were unable to reject genetic homogeneity for S. lewini, which was as expected based on previous studies of this species. Less expected were similar results for R. acutus, which is more benthic and less vagile than S. lewini. These features are probably driving the genetic break found between Australian and central Indonesian R. acutus (F-statistics; mtDNA, 0.751–0.903, respectively; microsatellite loci, 0.038–0.047 respectively). Our results support the spatially homogeneous monitoring and management plan for shark species in Queensland, Australia.

Food habits of Atlantic white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus acutus) off the coast of New England

Although the Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus) is one of the most common dolphins off New England, little has been documented about its diet in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Current federal protection of marine mammals limits the supply of animals for investigation to those incidentally caught in the nets of commercial fishermen with observers aboard. Stomachs of 62 L. acutus were examined; of these 62 individuals, 28 of them were caught by net and 34 were animals stranded on Cape Cod. Most of the net-caught L. acutus were from the deeper waters of the Gulf of Maine. A single stomach was from the continental slope south of Georges Bank. At least twenty-six fish species and three cephalopod species were eaten. The predominant prey were silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis), spoonarm octopus (Bathypolypus bairdii), and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus). The stomach from a net-caught L. acutus on the continental slope contained 7750 otoliths of the Madeira lanternfish (Ceratoscopelus maderensis). Sand lances (Ammodytes spp.) were the most abundant (541 otoliths) species in the stomachs of stranded L. acutus. Seasonal variation in diet was indicated; pelagic Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) was the most important prey in summer, but was rare in winter. The average length of fish prey was approximately 200 mm, and the average mantle length of cephalopod prey was approximately 50 mm.

尖吻蝮(Agkistrodon acutus)蛇毒凝血酶样成分的研究Ⅲ:蛇毒凝血酶止血效应的研究

将纯化的蛇毒凝血酶(TLE_(3)、TLE_(4)), 经家免试验表明, 2—3凝血酶单位/kg体 重剂量能显著地使家兔全血凝血时间短1/3—1/2。药后1h即有促凝作用, 以2—4h凝血(止血)效应最强, 12h已消失。经家兔及家犬实验性创伤止血实验表明, 对创伤出血有止血作用。表2参11

湖南尖吻蝮(D. acutus)蛇毒出血毒素的纯化、性质和溶液构象研究

通过Sephadex G-75凝胶过滤，QAE-Sephadex A-50和CM_Sephadex C-25离子交换的步骤，我们从湖南产尖吻蝮(Dienagkistrodon acutus)蛇毒中纯化出两个出血毒素，分别称之为DaHT-1和DaHT-2。在聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(PAGE)和SDS-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳中均呈单一蛋白带，显示两个出血毒素皆为电泳纯。DaHT-1和DaHT-2的分子量相同，都为23,500道尔顿，具有相似的氨基酸组成，其中酸性氨基酸(Asx和GLx)分别占23%和24%。经等电聚焦(IEF)测得它们的等电点分别为5.6和5.2。两个出血毒素具有较强的出血活性(MHD分别为0.5和0.8μg)，都具蛋白水解酶活力，无精氨酸水解酶和PLA~2活性，但蛋白水解酶活性与出血活性并非正相关。DaHT-1，DaHT-2的最适温度分别为35 ℃，40 ℃；最适pH为6-9。对热不稳定，温度变高于60 ℃，活性完全丧失。在中性和碱性条件下稳定，在酸性条件下不稳定，pH<3，出血活性丧失。EDTA完全抑制，半胱氨酸部分抑制它们的出血活性，表明两个出血毒素都是依赖金属离子的蛋白酶，且二硫键对其活性是必需的。金属离子的分析表明每摩尔毒蛋白大约含0.5摩尔的Zn，1摩尔的Ca，较多的Na，K。Mg，不含Co。两者是糖蛋白，含糖总量分别为11%和7%。用远紫外CD谱探讨DaHT-1和DaHT-2的溶液构象所得DaHT-1的α-螺旋，β-折叠和无规卷曲分别为36.9%，27.6%和31.4%；DaHT-2的α-螺旋，β-折迭和无规卷曲分别为23.4%，37.3%和45.3%。随着pH的增大或减少，DaHT-1和DaHT-2的峰位蓝移，在酸性条件下的变化比在碱性条件下大，计算表明：α-螺旋减少，无规卷曲增多，β-折迭基本未变。温度的影响和pH相似，50 ℃时峰位蓝移，α-螺旋减少，无规卷曲增多。EDTA对其影响很大，0.02M EDTA便导致两个出血毒素呈极度的无序状态。

Fluorescence spectra of hemorrhagin III from the snake venom of Agkistrodon acutus

Hemorrhagin III (AaH III) was separated and purified from the crude snake venom of Agkistrodon acutus, and its molecule weight was determined accurately to be 23; 284.4 +/- 0.1 by LDI1700-MALDI-TOF-MS. Emission spectra of AaH III showed that Trp residues were located by a great degree in the hydrophobic area. Addition of SDS and guanidine-HCl led to change of the molecular conformation of AaH III, and caused the fluorescence quenching of Trp residues. The red-shifted emission band of AaH III after adding guanidine-HCl showed that Trp residues exposed in polar solvents. The effects of pH, EDTA and metal ions on the fluorescence spectra of AaH III were also investigated.