RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Genetic and toxinological divergence among populations of Tityus trivittatus Kraepelin, 1898 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) inhabiting Paraguay and Argentina
A1 Borges Strauss, Adolfo
A1 Rojas de Arias, Gladys Antonieta
A1 de Almeida Lima, Sabrina
A1 Lomonte, Bruno
A1 Díaz, Cecilia
A1 Chávez Olórtegui, Carlos
A1 Graham, Matthew R.
A1 Kalapothakis, Evanguedes
A1 Coronel, Cathia Cecilia
A1 de Roodt, Adolfo R.
A2 Centro para el Desarrollo de la Investigación Científica
AB Envenoming by scorpions in genus Tityus is a public health problem in Tropical America. One of the most medically significant species is Tityus trivittatus, which is known to occur from southwest Brazil to central-northern and eastern Argentina. In this work, we studied the lethality, composition, antigenicity, and enzymatic activity of venom from a T. trivittatus population found further north in urban areas of eastern Paraguay, where it has caused serious envenomation of children. Our results indicate that the population is of medical importance as it produces a potently toxic venom with an LD50 around 1.19 mg/kg. Venom neutralization in preliminary mouse bioassays was complete when using Brazilian anti-T. serrulatus antivenom but only partial when using Argentinean anti-T. trivittatus antivenom. Venom competitive solid-phase enzyme immunoassays and immunoblotting from Argentinean and Paraguayan T. trivittatus populations indicated that antigenic differences exist across the species range. SDS-PAGE showed variations in type and relative amounts of venom proteins between T. trivitattus samples from Argentina and Paraguay. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry indicated that while some sodium channel toxins are shared, including β-toxin Tt1g, others are population-specific. Proteolytic activity by zymography and peptide identification through nESI-MS/MS also point out that population-specific proteases may exist in T. trivitattus, which are postulated to be involved in the envenoming process. A time-calibrated molecular phylogeny of mitochondrial COI sequences revealed a significant (8.14%) genetic differentiation between the Argentinean and Paraguayan populations, which appeared to have diverged between the mid Miocene and early Pliocene. Altogether, toxinological and genetic evidence indicate that T. trivitattus populations from Paraguay and Argentina correspond to distinct, unique cryptic species, and suggest that further venom and taxonomic diversity exists in synanthropic southern South American Tityus than previously thought.
PB Public Library of Science
SN 1935-2727
YR 2020
FD 2020-12-14
LK http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14066/4400
UL http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14066/4400
LA eng
NO Borges, A., Rojas de Arias, A., de Almeida Lima, S., Lomonte, B., Díaz, C., Chávez-Olórtegui, C., Graham, M. R., Kalapothakis, E., Coronel, C., & de Roodt, A. R. (2020). Genetic and toxinological divergence among populations of Tityus trivittatus Kraepelin, 1898 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) inhabiting Paraguay and Argentina. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 14(12), Artículo e0008899. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008899
NO Autor de correspondencia: borges.adolfo@gmail.com
NO Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología
DS MINDS@UW
RD 16-jun-2024