DOCSLIB.ORG

General Biochemical and Immunological Characteristics of the Venom from Peruvian Scorpion Hadruroides Lunatus

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
General Biochemical and Immunological Characteristics of the Venom from Peruvian Scorpion Hadruroides Lunatus CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Elsevier - Publisher Connector Toxicon 60 (2012) 934–942 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Toxicon journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/toxicon General biochemical and immunological characteristics of the venom from Peruvian scorpion Hadruroides lunatus F. Costal-Oliveira a, C.G. Duarte a, R.A. Machado de Avila a, M.M. Melo c, K.C.F. Bordon d, E.C. Arantes d, N.C. Paredes e, B. Tintaya e, C. Bonilla e, R.E. Bonilla a, W.S. Suarez e, A. Yarleque f, J.M. Fernandez f, E. Kalapothakis b, Carlos Chávez-Olórtegui a,* a Departamentos de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901 Minas Gerais, Brazil b Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901 Minas Gerais, Brazil c Escola de Veterinaria, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901 Minas Gerais, Brazil d Departamento de Física e Química, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto-USP, Ribeirão Preto-SP, Brazil e Instituto Nacional de Salud, Lima, Peru f Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru article info abstract Article history: This communication describes the general biochemical properties and some immuno- Received 3 May 2012 logical characteristics of the venom from the Peruvian scorpion Hadruroides lunatus, which Received in revised form 1 June 2012 is the most medically relevant species in Peru. The soluble venom of this scorpion is toxic Accepted 20 June 2012 to mice, the LD determined was 0.1 mg/kg and 21.55 mg/kg when the venom was Available online 29 June 2012 50 injected intracranial or intraperitoneally, respectively. The soluble venom displayed proteolytic, hyaluronidasic, phospholipasic and cardiotoxic activities. High performance Keywords: liquid chromatography of the soluble venom resulted in the separation of 20 fractions. Two Hadruroides lunatus scorpion venom Phospholipasic activity peptides with phospholipasic activity were isolated to homogeneity and their molecular masses determined by mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF). Anti-H. lunatus venom sera were LD50 Anti-H. lunatus sera produced in rabbits. Western blotting analysis showed that most of the protein content of this venom is immunogenic. H. lunatus anti-venom displayed consistent cross-reactivity with venom antigens from the new World-scorpions Tityus serrulatus and Centruroides sculpturatus venoms; however, a weaker reactivity was observed against the venom antigens from the old World-scorpion Androctonus australis Hector. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. Open access under the Elsevier OA license. 1. Introduction geographical distribution. This biodiversity has not, however, been properly studied. Peru is a country in western South America. It is Hadruroides (Pocock, 1893) is a scorpion genus included bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the in the family Iuridae, subfamily Charaboctoninae. This east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by genus comprises sixteen species and there members Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. This nation has appear brown in color with darker stains and have median a rich and diverse herpetic and arachnid fauna, with wide size of 80 mm (Ochoa and Prendini, 2010; Maury, 1975). Hadruroides scorpions have been reported in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela (Mello-Leitão, 1945; Esquivel de Verde, 1968; Kinzelbach, 1973; Maury, * Corresponding author. Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, 1975; Cekalovic, 1983; Sissom and Fet, 2000), but are Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. CP: 486. CEP: 31270-901. Tel.: þ55 31 3409 2625; actually restricted to Ecuador, Peru, northern Chile, and fax: þ55 313 441 5963. several offshore islands, including the Galápagos E-mail address: [email protected] (C. Chávez-Olórtegui). (Cekalovic, 1966; Maury, 1975; Francke and Soleglad, 1981). 0041-0101 Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. Open access under the Elsevier OA license. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2012.06.013 F. Costal-Oliveira et al. / Toxicon 60 (2012) 934–942 935 Species of Hadruroides inhabit inter-Andean valleys, Pacific were fed weekly with cockroaches. The venom from desert, and dry forest habitats (Ochoa and Prendini, 2010). mature scorpions was obtained by electrical stimulation Hadruroides lunatus (“escorpion de los pedregales”)is (12 V) of the telsons. The venom collected in micropipettes the most medically relevant species in Peru. According to was diluted in ultrapure water, pooled and stored at À20 C the Health Ministry of Peru (Ministerio de Salud del Perú, until use. The protein concentration was determined by the 2004), the number of human envenomation cases repor- method of Lowry et al. (1951). ted has increased during recent years, with most incidents Tityus serrulatus mature scorpions were collected in the occurring in the Central Coast of the country, which region of Belo Horizonte and maintained at the “Seção de corresponds with the main area of geographical distribu- Animais Peçonhentos” of Ezequiel Dias Foundation tion of H. lunatus scorpions (Zavaleta et al., 1981). Severe (FUNED) of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The crude venoms were toxic effects by H. lunatus stings have not been noted in obtained by electrical stimulation of the telsons, lyophi- humans; however, intense pain, edema and ulceration are lized and stored at À20 C in the dark until use. The venoms frequently described as symptoms (Zavaleta et al., 1981). from the scorpions Androctonus australis hector and Cen- Different approaches are adopted for the treatment of truroides sculpturatus were obtained from the Laboratoire scorpion envenomations such as local care, analgesics and de Biochimie, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille, France and antihistaminics (Ministério de Salúd, Peru, 2004). Never- from Sigma Chemical Company, St. Louis, USA, respectively. theless, there are no scientific data to support these treat- Male and female Swiss and C57BL/6 mice (weighing 18– ments. The Instituto Nacional de Salud (INS) in Lima, Peru 22 g) and male Wistar rats (weighing 110–150 g) were does not produce specific scorpion anti-venon (Ministério maintained at the Centro de Bioterismo of the Instituto de de Salúd, Peru, 2004). Consequently, the treatment of Ciências Biológicas of the Universidade Federal de Minas scorpion envenomations with specific anti-venom for Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. All animals Peruvian species does not exist. received water and food under controlled environmental Very little is known about the structural and functional conditions. The experimental protocols were approved by characteristics of Peruvian scorpion venoms. The first the “Ethics Committee on the Use of Laboratory Animals of toxicological information was obtained from research on UFMG” (CETEA-UFMG). Eight- to nine-week-old New Zea- the H. lunatus species (Delgado and Pesce, 1967; Aguilar, land rabbits were used to produce anti-H. lunatus and anti- 1968; Aguilar and Meneses, 1970 and Zavaleta et al., T. serrulatus sera. Animals were maintained and handled as 1981). The pharmacological effects described by Zavaleta described previously. et al. (1981) showed that H. lunatus crude venom has a low lethality in mice (LD50, 68 mg/kg i.p.) and, in dogs, 2.2. Toxic activities of H. lunatus venom induces a fall in blood pressure. Neurotoxic activity in insects, crustaceans and mice and antibacterial peptides 2.2.1. Determination of median lethal dose (LD50) from the Hadruroides sp. crude venoms were showed by The lethality was assessed by intraperitoneal (i.p.) and Escobar et al. (2002) and Escobar and Flores, (2008). intracranial (i.c.) routes. For the intraperitoneal route, However, proteolytic and phospholipasic activities of this groups of four mice were injected with different doses of scorpion venoms are not shown in these studies. Despite venom (from 11.53 mg to 32.95 mg per kg of body weight) these published works, the studies with Peruvian scorpions dissolved in 0.5 mL of PBS–BSA 0.1%. For the intra- are still very preliminary. cerebroventricular route, groups of six mice were injected In view of the lack of information on the general with various doses of venom (from 0.075 mg to 0.8 mg per characteristics of Hadruroides scorpion venoms, the main kg) dissolved in 5 mL of PBS–BSA 0.1%. Twenty four hours goal of this work was to report additional biochemical later deaths were recorded and the LD50 was then calcu- and toxic characterization of H. lunatus scorpion venom. lated by Probit analysis (Finney, 1971). In this paper, the hyaluronidase, proteolytic, phospholi- pase, cardiotoxic and lethal activities of H. lunatus crude 2.2.2. Determination of proteolytic activity (PA) venom were investigated. This communication also Proteolytic activity was measured with dimethylcasein describes the separation of the soluble venom compo- (Sigma) as described by Lin et al. (1969) with modifications nents by SDS-PAGE and by high performance liquid described in Sanchez et al. (2000). Dilutions corresponding chromatography (HPLC). Furthermore, the last part of this to 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg of venom were used and absorbance study shows, some immunological characteristics of values were determined at 340 nm. One unit was defined as soluble whole venom using specific polyclonal rabbit anti- DA 340 nm/min. Activity was expressed relative to protein H. lunatus antibodies. concentration (mg). 2. Materials and methods 2.2.3. Determination of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity PLA2 activity was measured using an indirect hemolytic 2.1. Animals and venoms assay (Gutierrez et al., 1988). Increasing concentrations of H. lunatus crude venom (0.0625, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg) were H. lunatus scorpions were collected in the region of prepared in a final volume of 15 mL in PBS and added to 2 mm Atocongo (Lima, Peru) and maintained in the herpetarium wells in agarose gels (0.8% in phosphate buffered saline, pH of the Centro Nacional de Producción de Biologicos of 8.1) containing 1.2% sheep erythrocytes, 1.2% egg yolk as Instituto Nacional de Salud (INS), in Lima, Peru.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Effects of Brazilian Scorpion Venoms on the Central Nervous System
    Nencioni et al. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases (2018) 24:3 DOI 10.1186/s40409-018-0139-x REVIEW Open Access Effects of Brazilian scorpion venoms on the central nervous system Ana Leonor Abrahão Nencioni1* , Emidio Beraldo Neto1,2, Lucas Alves de Freitas1,2 and Valquiria Abrão Coronado Dorce1 Abstract In Brazil, the scorpion species responsible for most severe incidents belong to the Tityus genus and, among this group, T. serrulatus, T. bahiensis, T. stigmurus and T. obscurus are the most dangerous ones. Other species such as T. metuendus, T. silvestres, T. brazilae, T. confluens, T. costatus, T. fasciolatus and T. neglectus are also found in the country, but the incidence and severity of accidents caused by them are lower. The main effects caused by scorpion venoms – such as myocardial damage, cardiac arrhythmias, pulmonary edema and shock – are mainly due to the release of mediators from the autonomic nervous system. On the other hand, some evidence show the participation of the central nervous system and inflammatory response in the process. The participation of the central nervous system in envenoming has always been questioned. Some authors claim that the central effects would be a consequence of peripheral stimulation and would be the result, not the cause, of the envenoming process. Because, they say, at least in adult individuals, the venom would be unable to cross the blood-brain barrier. In contrast, there is some evidence showing the direct participation of the central nervous system in the envenoming process. This review summarizes the major findings on the effects of Brazilian scorpion venoms on the central nervous system, both clinically and experimentally.
    [Show full text]
  • Ecologia Do Tityus Serrulatus E Ação De Sua Peçonha No Corpo Humano
    Centro Universitário de Brasília Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde ECOLOGIA DO TITYUS SERRULATUS E AÇÃO DE SUA PEÇONHA NO CORPO HUMANO Leonardo Carneiro de Morais Sá Brasília – 2002 Centro Universitário de Brasília Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde Licenciatura em Ciências Biológicas ECOLOGIA DO TITYUS SERRULATUS E AÇÃO DE SUA PEÇONHA NO CORPO HUMANO Leonardo Carneiro de Morais Sá Monografia apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde do Centro Universitário de Brasília como parte dos requisitos para a obtenção do grau de Licenciado em Ciências Biológicas Orientador: Profª. Dra. Elizabeth Maria Mamede da Costa Brasília – 2002 2 DEDICATÓRIA A meus pais a quem devo tudo o que conquistei durante essa caminhada da vida Aos meu irmão Anderson e a minha irmã Fernanda que sempre me ajudaram, A Graziela minha companheira pelo apoio e admiração, E a Deus que me deu o Dom da vida e muita saúde para lutar e chegar ao fim desta batalha. 3 AGRADECIMENTOS Aos professores que me proporcionaram obter o conhecimento que hoje detenho. A Professora Simone Rios onde quer que esteja pelo apoio, pelo tempo gasto em função de minha obra e pelo incentivo. A Professora Elizabeth Maria Mamede da Costa pelas horas que esteve ao meu lado incentivando e orientando. A todos os amigos e colegas que compartilharam comigo as ansiedades e felicidades dessa caminhada. 4 RESUMO O Tityus Serrulatus é um escorpião pertencente a família Buthidae, que por possuir uma peçonha de alta toxidade se apresenta como uma das mais perigosas do mundo. É um animal tipicamente urbano, buscando abrigo dentro de residências, tubulações entre outros.
    [Show full text]
  • Tityus Serrulatus Envenoming in Non-Obese Diabetic Mice: a Risk
    de Oliveira et al. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases (2016) 22:26 DOI 10.1186/s40409-016-0081-8 RESEARCH Open Access Tityus serrulatus envenoming in non-obese diabetic mice: a risk factor for severity Guilherme Honda de Oliveira1, Felipe Augusto Cerni1, Iara Aimê Cardoso1, Eliane Candiani Arantes1 and Manuela Berto Pucca1,2* Abstract Background: In Brazil, accidents with venomous animals are considered a public health problem. Tityus serrulatus (Ts), popularly known as the yellow scorpion, is most frequently responsible for the severe accidents in the country. Ts envenoming can cause several signs and symptoms classified according to their clinical manifestations as mild, moderate or severe. Furthermore, the victims usually present biochemical alterations, including hyperglycemia. Nevertheless, Ts envenoming and its induced hyperglycemia were never studied or documented in a patient with diabetes mellitus (DM). Therefore, this is the first study to evaluate the glycemia during Ts envenoming using a diabetic animal model (NOD, non-obese diabetic). Methods: Female mice (BALB/c or NOD) were challenged with a non-lethal dose of Ts venom. Blood glucose level was measured (tail blood using a glucose meter) over a 24-h period. The total glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels were measured 30 days after Ts venom injection. Moreover, the insulin levels were analyzed at the glycemia peak. Results: The results demonstrated that the envenomed NOD animals presented a significant increase of glycemia, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and insulin levels compared to the envenomed BALB/c control group, corroborating that DM victims present great risk of developing severe envenoming. Moreover, the envenomed NOD animals presented highest risk of death and sequelae.
    [Show full text]
  • Confirmation of Parthenogenesis in the Medically Significant, Synanthropic Scorpion Tityus Stigmurus (Thorell, 1876) (Scorpiones: Buthidae)
    NOTA BREVE: Confirmation of parthenogenesis in the medically significant, synanthropic scorpion Tityus stigmurus (Thorell, 1876) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) Lucian K. Ross NOTA BREVE: Abstract: Parthenogenesis (asexuality) or reproduction of viable offspring without fertiliza- Confirmation of parthenogenesis tion by a male gamete is confirmed for the medically significant, synanthropic in the medically significant, synan- scorpion Tityus (Tityus) stigmurus (Thorell, 1876) (Buthidae), based on the litters thropic scorpion Tityus stigmurus of four virgin females (62.3–64.6 mm) reared in isolation in the laboratory since (Thorell, 1876) (Scorpiones: Buthi- birth. Mature females were capable of producing initial litters of 10–21 thely- dae) tokous offspring each; 93–117 days post-maturation. While Tityus stigmurus has been historically considered a parthenogenetic species in the pertinent literature, Lucian K. Ross the present contribution is the first to demonstrate and confirm thelytokous 6303 Tarnow parthenogenesis in this species. Detroit, Michigan 48210-1558 U.S.A. Keywords: Buthidae, Tityus stigmurus, parthenogenesis, reproduction, thelytoky. Phone/Fax: +1 (313) 285-9336 Mobile Phone: +1 (313) 898-1615 E-mail: [email protected] Confirmación de la partenogénesis en el escorpión sinantrópico y de relevan- cia médica Tityus stigmurus (Thorell, 1876) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) Resumen: Se confirma la partenogénesis (asexualidad) o reproducción con progenie viable Revista Ibérica de Aracnología sin fertilización mediante gametos masculinos en el escorpión sinantrópico y de ISSN: 1576 - 9518. relevancia médica Tityus stigmurus (Thorell, 1876) (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Cua- Dep. Legal: Z-2656-2000. tro hembras vírgenes (Mn 62.3-64.6) se criaron en el laboratorio desde su naci- Vol. 18 miento. Al alcanzar el estadio adulto tuvieron una descendencia telitoca inicial de Sección: Artículos y Notas.
    [Show full text]
  • Notes on the Postembryonic Development of Tityus Melanostictus Pocock, 1893 (Scorpiones, Buthidae) from Trinidad 7- 13 ©Zoologisches Museum Hamburg
    ZOBODAT - www.zobodat.at Zoologisch-Botanische Datenbank/Zoological-Botanical Database Digitale Literatur/Digital Literature Zeitschrift/Journal: Entomologische Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum Hamburg Jahr/Year: 2011 Band/Volume: 15 Autor(en)/Author(s): Lourenco Wilson R., Ythier Eric, Cloudsley- Thompson John L. Artikel/Article: Notes on the postembryonic development of Tityus melanostictus Pocock, 1893 (Scorpiones, Buthidae) from Trinidad 7- 13 ©Zoologisches Museum Hamburg, www.zobodat.at Entomol. Mitt. zool. Mus. Hamburg15(178): 7-13 Hamburg, 1. Juli 2008 ISSN 0044-5223 Notes on the postembryonic development of Tityus melanostictus Pocock, 1893 (Scorpiones, Buthidae) from Trinidad W ilson R. Lourenço, E ric Y thier & J ohn L. Cloudsley-Thompson (with 4 figures) Abstract Biological observations were made on Tityus melanostictus Pocock, 1893, based on specimens from the region of Cumana, Trinidad. The total duration of embryonic development can only be estimated as 2.5 to 3 months, while the molts necessary for the acquisition of the different juvenile instars and adulthood took place at ages that averaged: 4, 48, 119, 211, 265 and 330 days. These developmental periods are not greatly different from those in other average sized and smaller species of Tityus; however, they are shorter than those previously observed in the larger species of the genus. Morphometric growth values of the different instars are smaller than those of other known species ofTityus. Keywords: Scorpiones, Tityus melanostictus, Trinidad, forest, life history. Introduction Tityus melanostictus Pocock, 1893 was originally described from Trinidad, without reference to a precise locality (Pocock 1893, Lourengo & Eickstedt 1987). This species has a restricted area of distribution limited to Trinidad, Tobago and the North of Venezuela (Lourengo & Eickested 1987, Gonzalez-Sponga 1996, Prendini 2001).
    [Show full text]
  • Active Compounds Present in Scorpion and Spider Venoms and Tick Saliva Francielle A
    Cordeiro et al. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases (2015) 21:24 DOI 10.1186/s40409-015-0028-5 REVIEW Open Access Arachnids of medical importance in Brazil: main active compounds present in scorpion and spider venoms and tick saliva Francielle A. Cordeiro, Fernanda G. Amorim, Fernando A. P. Anjolette and Eliane C. Arantes* Abstract Arachnida is the largest class among the arthropods, constituting over 60,000 described species (spiders, mites, ticks, scorpions, palpigrades, pseudoscorpions, solpugids and harvestmen). Many accidents are caused by arachnids, especially spiders and scorpions, while some diseases can be transmitted by mites and ticks. These animals are widely dispersed in urban centers due to the large availability of shelter and food, increasing the incidence of accidents. Several protein and non-protein compounds present in the venom and saliva of these animals are responsible for symptoms observed in envenoming, exhibiting neurotoxic, dermonecrotic and hemorrhagic activities. The phylogenomic analysis from the complementary DNA of single-copy nuclear protein-coding genes shows that these animals share some common protein families known as neurotoxins, defensins, hyaluronidase, antimicrobial peptides, phospholipases and proteinases. This indicates that the venoms from these animals may present components with functional and structural similarities. Therefore, we described in this review the main components present in spider and scorpion venom as well as in tick saliva, since they have similar components. These three arachnids are responsible for many accidents of medical relevance in Brazil. Additionally, this study shows potential biotechnological applications of some components with important biological activities, which may motivate the conducting of further research studies on their action mechanisms.
    [Show full text]
  • Programme and Abstracts European Congress of Arachnology - Brno 2 of Arachnology Congress European Th 2 9
    Sponsors: 5 1 0 2 Programme and Abstracts European Congress of Arachnology - Brno of Arachnology Congress European th 9 2 Programme and Abstracts 29th European Congress of Arachnology Organized by Masaryk University and the Czech Arachnological Society 24 –28 August, 2015 Brno, Czech Republic Brno, 2015 Edited by Stano Pekár, Šárka Mašová English editor: L. Brian Patrick Design: Atelier S - design studio Preface Welcome to the 29th European Congress of Arachnology! This congress is jointly organised by Masaryk University and the Czech Arachnological Society. Altogether 173 participants from all over the world (from 42 countries) registered. This book contains the programme and the abstracts of four plenary talks, 66 oral presentations, and 81 poster presentations, of which 64 are given by students. The abstracts of talks are arranged in alphabetical order by presenting author (underlined). Each abstract includes information about the type of presentation (oral, poster) and whether it is a student presentation. The list of posters is arranged by topics. We wish all participants a joyful stay in Brno. On behalf of the Organising Committee Stano Pekár Organising Committee Stano Pekár, Masaryk University, Brno Jana Niedobová, Mendel University, Brno Vladimír Hula, Mendel University, Brno Yuri Marusik, Russian Academy of Science, Russia Helpers P. Dolejš, M. Forman, L. Havlová, P. Just, O. Košulič, T. Krejčí, E. Líznarová, O. Machač, Š. Mašová, R. Michalko, L. Sentenská, R. Šich, Z. Škopek Secretariat TA-Service Honorary committee Jan Buchar,
    [Show full text]
  • Brown Spiders' Phospholipases-D with Potential Therapeutic
    biomedicines Article Brown Spiders’ Phospholipases-D with Potential Therapeutic Applications: Functional Assessment of Mutant Isoforms Thaís Pereira da Silva 1, Fernando Jacomini de Castro 1, Larissa Vuitika 1, Nayanne Louise Costacurta Polli 1, Bruno César Antunes 1,2, Marianna Bóia-Ferreira 1, João Carlos Minozzo 2, Ricardo Barros Mariutti 3, Fernando Hitomi Matsubara 1, Raghuvir Krishnaswamy Arni 3 , Ana Carolina Martins Wille 4, Andrea Senff-Ribeiro 1 , Luiza Helena Gremski 1 and Silvio Sanches Veiga 1,* 1 Departamento de Biologia Celular, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba 81530-900, Paraná, Brazil; [email protected] (T.P.d.S.); [email protected] (F.J.d.C.); [email protected] (L.V.); [email protected] (N.L.C.P.); [email protected] (B.C.A.); [email protected] (M.B.-F.); [email protected] (F.H.M.); [email protected] (A.S.-R.); [email protected] (L.H.G.) 2 Centro de Produção e Pesquisa de Imunobiológicos (CPPI), Piraquara 83302-200, Paraná, Brazil; [email protected] 3 Departamento de Física, Centro Multiusuário de Inovação Biomolecular, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), São José do Rio Preto 15054-000, São Paulo, Brazil; [email protected] (R.B.M.); [email protected] (R.K.A.) 4 Departamento de Biologia Estrutural, Molecular e Genética, Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa, Ponta Grossa 84030-900, Paraná, Brazil; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +55-41-33611776 Citation: da Silva, T.P.; de Castro, F.J.; Vuitika, L.; Polli, N.L.C.; Antunes, Abstract: Phospholipases-D (PLDs) found in Loxosceles spiders’ venoms are responsible for the der- B.C.; Bóia-Ferreira, M.; Minozzo, J.C.; monecrosis triggered by envenomation.
    [Show full text]
  • Book of Abstracts
    organized by: European Society of Arachnology Welcome to the 27th European Congress of Arachnology held from 2nd – 7th September 2012 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The 2012 European Society of Arachnology (http://www.european-arachnology.org/) yearly congress is organized by Matjaž Kuntner and the EZ lab (http://ezlab.zrc-sazu.si) and held at the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Novi trg 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. The main congress venue is the newly renovated Atrium at Novi Trg 2, and the additional auditorium is the Prešernova dvorana (Prešernova Hall) at Novi Trg 4. This book contains the abstracts of the 4 plenary, 85 oral and 68 poster presentations arranged alphabetically by first author, a list of 177 participants from 42 countries, and an abstract author index. The program and other day to day information will be delivered to the participants during registration. We are delighted to announce the plenary talks by the following authors: Jason Bond, Auburn University, USA (Integrative approaches to delimiting species and taxonomy: lesson learned from highly structured arthropod taxa); Fiona Cross, University of Canterbury, New Zealand (Olfaction-based behaviour in a mosquito-eating jumping spider); Eileen Hebets, University of Nebraska, USA (Interacting traits and secret senses – arach- nids as models for studies of behavioral evolution); Fritz Vollrath, University of Oxford, UK (The secrets of silk). Enjoy your time in Ljubljana and around in Slovenia. Matjaž Kuntner and co-workers: Scientific and program committee: Matjaž Kuntner, ZRC SAZU, Slovenia Simona Kralj-Fišer, ZRC SAZU, Slovenia Ingi Agnarsson, University of Vermont, USA Christian Kropf, Natural History Museum Berne, Switzerland Daiqin Li, National University of Singapore, Singapore Miquel Arnedo, University of Barcelona, Spain Organizing committee: Matjaž Gregorič, Nina Vidergar, Tjaša Lokovšek, Ren-Chung Cheng, Klemen Čandek, Olga Kardoš, Martin Turjak, Tea Knapič, Urška Pristovšek, Klavdija Šuen.
    [Show full text]
  • Scorpions and Life-History Strategies: from Evolutionary Dynamics Toward the Scorpionism Problem Wilson R
    Lourenço Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases (2018) 24:19 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40409-018-0160-0 REVIEW Open Access Scorpions and life-history strategies: from evolutionary dynamics toward the scorpionism problem Wilson R. Lourenço Abstract This work aims to contribute to the general information on scorpion reproductive patterns in general including species that can be noxious to humans. Scorpions are unusual among terrestrial arthropods in several of their life- history traits since in many aspects their reproductive strategies are more similar to those of superior vertebrates than to those of arthropods in general. This communication focuses mainly on the aspects concerning embryonic and post-embryonic developments since these are quite peculiar in scorpions and can be directly connected to the scorpionism problem. As in previous similar contributions, the content of this communication is addressed mainly to non-specialists whose research embraces scorpions in several fields such as venom toxins and public health. A precise knowledge of reproductive strategies presented by several scorpion groups and, in particular, those of dangerous species may prove to be a useful tool in the interpretation of results dealing with scorpionism, and also lead to a better treatment of the problems caused by infamous scorpions. Keywords: Scorpion, Reproductive strategies, Embryonic, Postembryonic development Background aspects of scorpion ecology and ecophysiology remain In a series of previous publications addressed to the incompletely studied but will not be the subject of the readers of the Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins present communication. Contrarily, many reproductive including Tropical Diseases, I attempted to provide some aspects of scorpions are presently known and attest to general information about scorpions and scorpionism, the strong particularities in their mode of reproduction broadly addressed to non-specialists whose research em- [7].
    [Show full text]
  • ON the CYTOLOGY of TITYUS BAHIENSIS with SPECIAL REFERENCE to MEIOTIC PROPHASE ITYUS BAHIENSIS, the Common Scorpion in the Regio
    ON THE CYTOLOGY OF TITYUS BAHIENSIS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MEIOTIC PROPHASE F. G. BRIEGER AND E. A. GRANER Department of Genetics, Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz,” Universidade de S& Paulo, Brasil Received November 27, 1942 ITYUS BAHIENSIS, the common scorpion in the region of Piracicaba, TSgo Paulo, Brazil, differs considerably with regard to form and number of chromosomes from related species described by other authors, as first stated by PIZA(1939a). Somatic divisions show six irregularly curved chromo- somes: in the meiosis of spermatocytes three tetrads are easily distinguished, all chromatids being rod shaped, without showing signs of chiasmas, of con- strictions, or any specific attachment region. The most interesting feature so far reported is the parallel movement of the chromosomes or chromatid pairs during the first anaphase. This parallel movement in Tityus seems to be the same as described first by SCHRADER (1935) for some Hemiptera (see GEITLER1938 for further references). PIZA (1939b) has formulated far reaching speculations on this subject with which we cannot agree. The description of meiotic prophase as given by PIZA(1939a) is very incom- plete. He describes very briefly leptotene, zygotene, and early pachytene stages, without corresponding illustrations. In the description of pachynema PIZA(1939”~ p. 256) writes that “the nucleus seems to be occupied by extensive filaments of very clear chromomeric structure which describe many and large spirals, strongly accentuated in the point of separation of the respective seg- ments.” It is not clear to what structure the term “segment” refers. Later prophase stages were not observed in the three males studied by PIZA.He assumes that in late pachynema the tetrads condense and become regular in outline, passing thus into metaphase (fig.
    [Show full text]
  • The Parthenogenetic Yellow Scorpion Tityus Serrulatus (Scorpiones, Buthidae)
    NOTA BREVE: The first record for Wolbachia in a scorpion: the parthenogenetic yellow scorpion Tityus serrulatus (Scorpiones, Buthidae) Lincoln Suesdek-Rocha, Rogério Bertani, Pedro Ismael da Silva-Junior & Denise Selivon. NOTA BREVE: The first record for Wolbachia in a scorpion: the parthenogenetic yel- low scorpion Tityus serrulatus (Scorpiones, Buthidae) Lincoln Suesdek-Rocha & Rogério Bertani. Instituto Butantan. Av. Vital Brazil, Abstract: 1500 CEP 05503-900. São Paulo – Wolbachia are endosymbiont bacteria of arthropods and nematods. The first SP – BRAZIL. record for Wolbachia in a scorpion is presented for the parthenogenetic yellow [email protected] scorpion Tityus serrulatus. Wolbachia was found in T. serrulatus by PCR am- [email protected] plification of a fragment of 16S rDNA gene. Key words: Scorpiones, Wolbachia, parthenogenesis, endosimbiosis, South America, Pedro Ismael da Silva-Junior. Brazil. Lab. Especial de Toxinologia Aplica- da - CAT -CEPID, Instituto Butantan. Av. Vital Brazil, 1500 CEP 05503- 900. São Paulo – SP – BRAZIL. Primera cita de Wolbachia en un escorpión: el escorpión amarillo [email protected] partenogenético Tityus serrulatus (Scorpiones, Buthidae) Denise Selivon. Dept. Biologia. Instituto Biociências. Universidade de São Paulo. Rua do Resumen: Matão 277 CEP 05508-900. São Wolbachia son bacterias endosimbiontes de artrópodos y nemátodos. La Paulo SP – BRAZIL. presencia de Wolbachia en Scorpiones es registrada por primera vez, para el [email protected] escorpión amarillo partenogenético, Tityus serrulatus. Hemos encontrado Wol- bachia en T. serrulatus por intermedio de amplificación por PCR del gen 16S Revista Ibérica de Aracnología rDNA. ISSN: 1576 - 9518. Palabras clave: Scorpiones, Wolbachia, partenogénesis, endosimbiosis, Sudamérica, Dep. Legal: Z-2656-2000.
    [Show full text]