A Review of an Internet Database of Crotalinae Venom Found in the United States.
Cano Perez, John.*; Morgan, McKeiler, Pérez, John Carlos; Sánchez, Elda and Ramírez, María Susana
Department of Biology, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, MSC 158, Kingsville, TX USA 78363 *Conrad Blucher Instituto for Surveying and Science, Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX USA 78412
Snake venoms have been shown to be complex mixtures of pharmacologically important molecules, some of which have potential therapeutic value in the treatment of clot-induced ischemia and other human disorders. Literature contains many references on how venom and/or venom components are being used in medicine. Within the United States, there are 44 subspecies of venomous snakes. Despite this rather vast diversity, 90% of the venom-related biomedical research conducted on native snakes found in the United States has been done on a limited number of the more common species. Since the venoms from most of the native species are not available or characterized, their composition and potential usefulness in medicine and applied biomedical research has not been explored. The Natural Toxins Research Initiative (NTRI) at Texas A & M University-Kingsville has developed a serpentarium that presently houses a population of over 250 snakes composed of 11 species and 20 subspecies. This serpentarium has the capacity to house over 500 snakes. These snakes are cataloged on the Internet database with their geographical location, proteolytic activities, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and electrophoretic titration (ET) profiles. Many of the venoms in the database have never been characterized and few locale-specific differences within a species have been examined. These venoms can be queried through an on-line search routine. The objectives of the NTRI through its database are to: 1) provide reliable sources of venoms and related products from a wide variety of New World species; 2) characterize venoms by electrophoretic titration (ET), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and enzyme activities; and 3) develop a database which allows the user to view the animals, their geographic distribution, venom characteristics, pharmacological and biological activities. All the snake venoms in the database thus far are from the United States and all the venoms are complex mixtures of toxins with many different types of enzymatic activities. Many of these venoms have important biomedical applications. The database will be a useful starting point for anyone interested in isolating fibrinolytic enzymes, specific toxins, hemorrhagins, or other pharmacologically active proteins from snake venoms.
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
08 Oct 2002 -
Date of issue
Dec 2001
