Lowly Expressed Toxin Transcripts in Poorly Characterized Myanmar Russell's Viper Venom Gland.

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Genomics
• Toxicology

Background:

• Russell's viper (Daboia siamensis) bites pose a significant public health challenge in Myanmar.
• Understanding venom composition is crucial for developing effective antivenoms and therapeutics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize candidate toxin genes from the Myanmar Russell's viper using RNA-sequencing.
• To identify novel venom gene families and predict their functions for potential therapeutic applications.

Main Methods:

• mRNA extraction from Myanmar Russell's viper venom glands.
• Illumina next-generation RNA sequencing and analysis using the Venomix pipeline.
• Bioinformatic analysis of translated protein sequences for conserved motifs and domains.

Main Results:

• Identification of 29 unique cDNA sequences belonging to eight newly discovered venom gene families.
• These transcripts represent low-to-moderate expression levels (0.088% of total).
• Identified gene families include neprilysins, cystatins, waprin, vipericidin, veficolin, vespryns, three-finger toxins, and endothelial lipases.

Conclusions:

• The study expands the known repertoire of Russell's viper toxins.
• Newly identified toxins like cystatins and antimicrobial peptides warrant further investigation for therapeutic uses.
• Potential applications include treatments for cancer and antibiotic-resistant infections.