Active Expression of Genes for Protein Modification Enzymes in Habu Venom Glands.

Genes encoding snake venom toxins have been studied extensively. However, genes involved in the modification and functioning of venom proteins are little known. Protobothrops is a genus of pit vipers, which are venomous and inhabit the Nansei (Southwest) islands of Japan, Taiwan China, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, and India. Our previous study decoded the genome of Protobothrops flavoviridis, a species endemic to the Nansei Islands, Japan, and revealed unique evolutionary processes of some venom genes. In this study, we analyzed genes that are highly expressed in venom glands to survey genes for candidate enzymes or chaperone proteins involved in toxin folding and modification. We found that, in addition to genes that encode venom proteins and ribosomal proteins, genes that encode protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) family members (orthologs of human P4HB and PDIA3), Selenoprotein M (SELENOM), and Calreticulin (CALR) are highly expressed in venom glands. Since these enzymes or chaperones are involved in protein modification and potentially possess protein folding functions, we propose that P4HB, SELENOM, CALR, and PDIA3 encode candidate enzymes or chaperones to confer toxic functions upon the venom transcriptome.

A new cryptic species of green pit viper of the genus Trimeresurus Lacépède, 1804 (Serpentes, Viperidae) from northeast India.

A new cryptic species of green pit viper is described from northeast India, based on specimens collected from the state of Mizoram and Meghalaya. The new species is a member of the subgenus Viridovipera and is sister to Trimeresurus medoensis based on molecular data for mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, whereas resembles Trimeresurus gumprechti morphologically. A combination of characters helps delimit the new species from its congeners. Description of the new species highlights the need for dedicated surveys across northeast India to document its reptilian diversity, as this represents the third new species of the genus to be described in the past three years.

Sequence determination and bioinformatic comparison of ten venom serine proteases of Trimeresurus gracilis, a Taiwanese endemic pitviper with controversial taxonomy.

Trimeresurus gracilis (Tgc) is endemic to Taiwan and shown to be closely related with Ovophis okinavensis by previous phylogenetic analyses, but their taxonomic status remain controversial. Here, we cloned and sequenced ten of its venom serine-proteases (designated as Tgc-vSPs). All the Tgc-vSPs conserve the catalytic triads, six appear to be kallikrein-like (KNs) and four are plasminogen-activator homologs (PAHs and PAs). They are studied under four structural categories: (1) highly similar Tgc-KN1, Tgc-KN2 and Tgc-KN3, with four predicted N-glycosylation sites; (2) Tgc-KN4, with a single N -glycosylation site; (3) Tgc-KN5 and Tgc-KN6, with two distinct N-glycosylation sites; (4) Tgc-PAH1/PAH2, TgcPA3, and Tgc-PA4, with two conserved N-glycosylation sites. Additionally, Tgc-KN1, Tgc-KN4 and Tgc-PAH1 were purified by reversed-phase HPLC and identified by peptide-mass-fingerprinting. Results of BLAST and sequence alignments reveal that Tgc-KN1∼3 and Tgc-KN6 are most like the vSPs of rattlesnakes, while the sequences of Tgc-KN4, KN5 and Tgc-PAH1/PAH2 match closely to the partial sequences of three O. okinavensis vSPs. Thus, our results reveal non-overlapping similarities of Tgc-vSPs to the O. okinavensis vSPs and vSPs of the New World pitvipers. In addition, molecular phylogenetic analyses of the plasminogen-activator like vSPs reveal separate evolution of two clusters of the enzymes with distinct functions.

Unique structure (construction and configuration) and evolution of the array of small serum protein genes of Protobothrops flavoviridis snake.

The nucleotide sequence of Protobothrops flavoviridis (Pf) 30534 bp genome segment which contains genes encoding small serum proteins (SSPs) was deciphered. The genome segment contained five SSP genes (PfSSPs), PfSSP-4, PfSSP-5, PfSSP-1, PfSSP-2, and PfSSP-3 in this order and had characteristic configuration and constructions of the particular nucleotide sequences inserted. Comparison between the configurations of the inserted chicken repeat-1 (CR1) fragments of P. flavoviridis and Ophiophagus hannah (Oh) showed that the nucleotide segment encompassing from PfSSP-1 to PfSSP-2 was inverted. The inactive form of PfSSP-1, named PfSSP-1δ(Ψ), found in the intergenic region (I-Reg) between PfSSP-5 and PfSSP-1 had also been destroyed by insertions of the plural long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs) and DNA transposons. The L2 LINE inserted into the third intron or the particular repetitive sequences inserted into the second intron structurally divided five PfSSPs into two subgroups, the Long SSP subgroup of PfSSP-1, PfSSP-2 and PfSSP-5 or the Short SSP subgroup of PfSSP-3 and PfSSP-4 The mathematical analysis also showed that PfSSPs of the Long SSP subgroup evolved alternately in an accelerated and neutral manner, whereas those of the Short SSP subgroup evolved in an accelerated manner. Moreover, the ortholog analysis of SSPs of various snakes showed that the evolutionary emerging order of SSPs was as follows: SSP-5, SSP-4, SSP-2, SSP-1, and SSP-3 The unique interpretation about accelerated evolution and the novel idea that the transposable elements such as LINEs and DNA transposons are involved in maintaining the host genome besides its own transposition natures were proposed.

Venom Composition in a Phenotypically Variable Pit Viper ( Trimeresurus insularis) across the Lesser Sunda Archipelago.

The genus Trimeresurus comprises a group of venomous pitvipers endemic to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. Of these, Trimeresurus insularis, the White-lipped Island Pitviper, is a nocturnal, arboreal species that occurs on nearly every major island of the Lesser Sunda archipelago. In the current study, venom phenotypic characteristics of T. insularis sampled from eight Lesser Sunda Islands (Flores, Lembata, Lombok, Pantar, Sumba, Sumbawa, Timor, and Wetar) were evaluated via SDS-PAGE, enzymatic activity assays, fibrinogenolytic assays, gelatin zymography, and RP-HPLC, and the Sumbawa sample was characterized by venomic analysis. For additional comparative analyses, venoms were also examined from several species in the Trimeresurus complex, including T. borneensis, T. gramineus, T. puniceus, T. purpureomaculatus, T. stejnegeri, and Protobothrops flavoviridis. Despite the geographical isolation, T. insularis venoms from all eight islands demonstrated remarkable similarities in gel electrophoretic profiles and RP-HPLC patterns, and all populations had protein bands in the mass ranges of phosphodiesterases (PDE), l-amino acid oxidases (LAAO), P-III snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMP), serine proteases, cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRISP), phospholipases A2 (PLA2), and C-type lectins. An exception was observed in the Lombok sample, which lacked protein bands in the mass range of serine protease and CRISP. Venomic analysis of the Sumbawa venom also identified these protein families, in addition to several proteins of lesser abundance (<1%), including glutaminyl cyclase, aminopeptidase, PLA2 inhibitor, phospholipase B, cobra venom factor, 5'-nucleotidase, vascular endothelial growth factor, and hyaluronidase. All T. insularis venoms exhibited similarities in thrombin-like and PDE activities, while significant differences were observed for LAAO, SVMP, and kallikrein-like activities, though these differences were only observed for a few islands. Slight but noticeable differences were also observed with fibrinogen and gelatin digestion activities. Trimeresurus insularis venoms exhibited overall similarity to the other Trimeresurus complex species examined, with the exception of P. flavoviridis venom, which showed the greatest overall differentiation. Western blot analysis revealed that all major T. insularis venom proteins were recognized by Green Pitviper ( T. albolabris) antivenom, and reactivity was also seen with most venom proteins of the other Trimeresurus species, but incomplete antivenom-venom recognition was observed against P. flavoviridis venom proteins. These results demonstrate significant conservation in the venom composition of T. insularis across the Lesser Sunda archipelago relative to the other Trimeresurus species examined.

The habu genome reveals accelerated evolution of venom protein genes.

Evolution of novel traits is a challenging subject in biological research. Several snake lineages developed elaborate venom systems to deliver complex protein mixtures for prey capture. To understand mechanisms involved in snake venom evolution, we decoded here the ~1.4-Gb genome of a habu, Protobothrops flavoviridis. We identified 60 snake venom protein genes (SV) and 224 non-venom paralogs (NV), belonging to 18 gene families. Molecular phylogeny reveals early divergence of SV and NV genes, suggesting that one of the four copies generated through two rounds of whole-genome duplication was modified for use as a toxin. Among them, both SV and NV genes in four major components were extensively duplicated after their diversification, but accelerated evolution is evident exclusively in the SV genes. Both venom-related SV and NV genes are significantly enriched in microchromosomes. The present study thus provides a genetic background for evolution of snake venom composition.

The taxonomic position and the unexpected divergence of the Habu viper, Protobothrops among Japanese subtropical islands.

There are four Habu species currently recognized in Japan: Protobothrops flavoviridis from the Amami Islands and the Okinawa Islands, P. tokarensis from the Tokara Islands, P. elegans from the Yaeyama Islands and Ovophis okinabvensis from the Amami Islands and the Okinawa Islands. To clarify their taxonomic positions, we determined the complete mitochondria genome sequence (approx. 17kb) from two specimens from two different islands each for P. flavoviridis, P. tokarensis and P. elegans as well as one specimen of O. okinavensis and reconstructed the molecular phylogeny of Protobothrops using the published sequences of related species. The maximum likelihood tree showed four major species groups within Protbothrops: Group I consisting of P. cornutus, P. dabieshanensis, P. jerdonii and P. xiangchengensis; Group II consisting of P. flavoviridis and P. tokarensis; Group III consisting of P. maolensis, P. mucrosquamatus and P. elegans; Group IV consisting of P. himalayanus and P. kaubacki. Since we observed an unexpected divergence and the paraphyly of the two samples of P. flavoviridis collected from different islands, Amami-Oshima and Okinawajima within the Group II, we expanded the analysis by increasing the number of P. flavoviridis and P. tokarensis collected from 10 islands: Amami-Oshima (5 specimens), Kakeromajima (4) and Tokunoshima (4) from the Amami Islands, Okinawajima (4), Iheyajima (4), Iejima (4), Tokashikijima (4) and Kumejima (4) from the Okinawa Islands, Kodakarajima (P. tokarensis) (4) and Takarajima (P. tokarensis) (4) from the Tokara Islands. The maximum likelihood tree of the 44 samples replicated the significant divergence of P. flavoviridis between the Amami Clade including Amami-Oshima, Kakeromajima and Tokunoshima and the Okinawa Clade including Okinawajima, Iheyajima, Iejima, Tokashikijima and Kumejima. The Amami Clade also include all specimens from the Tokara Islands currently known as an independent species, P. tokarensis, suggesting the paraphyly of the taxon, P. flavoviridis. In contrast, we observed a distinct lineage of the two specimens from the Yaeyama Islands, supporting the validity of the taxon, P. elegans as an independent species. By MCMC method, we estimated the divergence time between the Amami Clade and the Okinawa Clade to be 6.51MYA, suggesting that the vicariance of the two clades preceded the geological separation of the Amami Islands and the Okinawa Islands (∼1.5MYA). As expected from the limited mobility of terrestrial reptiles including snakes, we observed high genetic divergence in Habu mtDNA among Japanese subtropical island populations.

Molecular cloning and characterization of satellite DNA sequences from constitutive heterochromatin of the habu snake (Protobothrops flavoviridis, Viperidae) and the Burmese python (Python bivittatus, Pythonidae).

Highly repetitive DNA sequences of the centromeric heterochromatin provide valuable molecular cytogenetic markers for the investigation of genomic compartmentalization in the macrochromosomes and microchromosomes of sauropsids. Here, the relationship between centromeric heterochromatin and karyotype evolution was examined using cloned repetitive DNA sequences from two snake species, the habu snake (Protobothrops flavoviridis, Crotalinae, Viperidae) and Burmese python (Python bivittatus, Pythonidae). Three satellite DNA (stDNA) families were isolated from the heterochromatin of these snakes: 168-bp PFL-MspI from P. flavoviridis and 196-bp PBI-DdeI and 174-bp PBI-MspI from P. bivittatus. The PFL-MspI and PBI-DdeI sequences were localized to the centromeric regions of most chromosomes in the respective species, suggesting that the two sequences were the major components of the centromeric heterochromatin in these organisms. The PBI-MspI sequence was localized to the pericentromeric region of four chromosome pairs. The PFL-MspI and the PBI-DdeI sequences were conserved only in the genome of closely related species, Gloydius blomhoffii (Crotalinae) and Python molurus, respectively, although their locations on the chromosomes were slightly different. In contrast, the PBI-MspI sequence was also in the genomes of P. molurus and Boa constrictor (Boidae), and additionally localized to the centromeric regions of eight chromosome pairs in B. constrictor, suggesting that this sequence originated in the genome of a common ancestor of Pythonidae and Boidae, approximately 86 million years ago. The three stDNA sequences showed no genomic compartmentalization between the macrochromosomes and microchromosomes, suggesting that homogenization of the centromeric and/or pericentromeric stDNA sequences occurred in the macrochromosomes and microchromosomes of these snakes.

Complete mitochondrial genome of Trimeresurus albolabris (Squamata: Viperidae: Crotalinae).

Trimeresurus albolabris is the most widely distributed species in the genus Trimeresurus and mainly in East and South-East Asia. In this study, we first sequenced and characterized the whole mitochondrial genome of T. albolabris. The total length of the complete mitochondrial genome was 17,220 bp with 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs, 2 rRNAs and 2 control regions. The overall base composition of T. albolabris was 33.40% A, 27.04% T, 27.28% C, and 12.28% G. Except for ND6 subunit gene and eight tRNA genes which were encoded on the L-stand, all the genes in T. albolabris were distributed on the H-strand.

The finding of a group IIE phospholipase A2 gene in a specified segment of Protobothrops flavoviridis genome and its possible evolutionary relationship to group IIA phospholipase A2 genes.

The genes encoding group IIE phospholipase A2, abbreviated as IIE PLA2, and its 5' and 3' flanking regions of Crotalinae snakes such as Protobothrops flavoviridis, P. tokarensis, P. elegans, and Ovophis okinavensis, were found and sequenced. The genes consisted of four exons and three introns and coded for 22 or 24 amino acid residues of the signal peptides and 134 amino acid residues of the mature proteins. These IIE PLA2s show high similarity to those from mammals and Colubridae snakes. The high expression level of IIE PLA2s in Crotalinae venom glands suggests that they should work as venomous proteins. The blast analysis indicated that the gene encoding OTUD3, which is ovarian tumor domain-containing protein 3, is located in the 3' downstream of IIE PLA2 gene. Moreover, a group IIA PLA2 gene was found in the 5' upstream of IIE PLA2 gene linked to the OTUD3 gene (OTUD3) in the P. flavoviridis genome. It became evident that the specified arrangement of IIA PLA2 gene, IIE PLA2 gene, and OTUD3 in this order is common in the genomes of humans to snakes. The present finding that the genes encoding various secretory PLA2s form a cluster in the genomes of humans to birds is closely related to the previous finding that six venom PLA2 isozyme genes are densely clustered in the so-called NIS-1 fragment of the P. flavoviridis genome. It is also suggested that venom IIA PLA2 genes may be evolutionarily derived from the IIE PLA2 gene.

Identification and evolution of venom phospholipase A2 inhibitors from Protobothrops elegans serum.

The cDNAs encoding venom phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) inhibitors (PLIs), named Protobothrops elegans (Pe)γPLI-A, PeγPLI-B, PeαPLI-A, and PeαPLI-B, were cloned from the P. elegans liver cDNA library. They were further divided into several constituents due to nucleotide substitutions in their open reading frames. For PeαPLI-A, two constituents, PeαPLI-A(a) and PeαPLI-A(b), were identified due to three nonsynonymous substitutions in exon 3. Far-western blot and mass-spectrometry analysis of the P. elegans serum proteins showed the presence of γPLIs, and αPLIs, which can bind venom PLA(2)s. In αPLIs from Protobothrops sera, A or B subtype-specific amino acid substitutions are concentrated only in exon 3. A comparison of γPLIs showed that γPLI-As are conserved and γPLI-Bs diversified. Mathematical analysis of the nucleotide sequences of Protobothrops γPLI-B cDNAs revealed that the particular loops in the three-finger motifs diversified by accelerated evolution. Such evolutionary features should have made serum PLIs acquire their respective inhibitory activities to adapt to venom PLA(2) isozymes.

Expression and functional characterization of chitribrisin, a thrombin-like enzyme, in the venom of the Chinese green pit viper (Trimeresurus albolabris).

In the present study, functionally active, recombinant chitribrisin, which is a thrombin-like enzyme in the venom of the Chinese green pit viper (Trimeresurus albolabris), was expressed and purified using a prokaryotic system. The fusion protein of chitribrisin, together with TrxA and 6x His via an E.coli expression vector pET-32a(+), was successfully expressed in E.coli BL21(DE3) cells. After the fusion protein was isolated and purified by chelated Ni(2+) resin and specifically cleaved by enterokinase, the recombinant chitribrisin showed a strong fibrinogenolytic activity against the alpha and beta chains of human plasminogen-free fibrinogen and weak fibrinogen clotting activity. In addition, multiple sequence alignment revealed that the expressed chitribrisin was homologous to GPV-TL1 and GPV-TL2 from the snake venom of T. albolabris from central Thailand in terms of the amino acid sequence identities. However, there were some differences in the amino acid sequences of the proteins from the same species from different geographical locations. The causes for the geographical variation in TELs in the same species remain to be investigated. Mutagenesis of chitribrisin should be performed in future studies to study the structural and functional relationship and to identify the critical residues responsible for the properties of the thrombin-like enzyme.

Accelerated evolution of small serum proteins (SSPs)-The PSP94 family proteins in a Japanese viper.

Five small serum proteins (SSPs) with molecular masses of 6.5-10 kDa were detected in Habu (Trimeresurus flavoviridis) serum; this included two novel proteins SSP-4 and SSP-5. The amino acid sequences of these proteins and of SSP-1, SSP-2, and SSP-3, which were reported previously, were determined on the basis of the nucleotide sequences of their cDNAs. Although these proteins exhibited only limited sequence identity to mammalian prostatic secretory protein of 94 amino acids (PSP94), the topological pattern of disulfide bonds in SSPs was identical to that of the mammalian proteins. SSP-3 and SSP-4 lacked approximately 30 residues at the C-terminal. Each of the full-length cDNAs encoded a mature protein of 62-90 residues and a highly conserved signal peptide. The evolutionary distances between SSPs estimated on the basis of the amino acid changes were significantly greater than those of the synonymous nucleotide substitutions; these finding, together with results from analyses of nonsynonymous to synonymous rates of change (dN/dS) suggest that snake SSPs have endured substantial accelerated adaptive protein evolution. Such accelerated positive selection in SSPs parallels other findings of similar molecular evolution in snake venom proteins and suggests that diversifying selection on both systems may be linked, and that snake SSP genes may have evolved by gene duplication and rapid diversification to facilitate the acquisition of various functions to block venom activity within venomous snakes.

Analysis of green pit viper (Trimeresurus alborabris) venom protein by LC/MS-MS.

Green pit viper venom has major effect on the hematological system having a thrombin-like effect. Thus, this study is designed to analyze the composition of Trimeresurus albolabris venom by performing gel filtration and LC/MS-MS. The purified protein was then digested by trypsin, and the tryptic fragments were analyzed by iontrap spectrophotometry. This study found four types of proteins, namely jerdonitin, stejaggregin-A beta chain-1, stejnobin, and stejnihagin-A, as the components of T. albolabris venom. All of these toxins played a greater or lesser role in clot formation or otherwise contributed to cross-reactions in antivenom production.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of a novel Arg49 phospholipase A2 homologue from Zhaoermia mangshanensis venom.

Zhaoermiatoxin, an Arg49 phospholipase A2 homologue from Zhaoermia mangshanensis (formerly Trimeresurus mangshanensis, Ermia mangshanensis) venom is a novel member of the PLA2-homologue family that possesses an arginine residue at position 49, probably arising from a secondary Lys49-->Arg substitution that does not alter the catalytic inactivity towards phospholipids. Like other Lys49 PLA2 homologues, zhaoermiatoxin induces oedema and strong myonecrosis without detectable PLA2 catalytic activity. A single crystal with maximum dimensions of 0.2 x 0.2 x 0.5 mm was used for X-ray diffraction data collection to a resolution of 2.05 A using synchrotron radiation and the diffraction pattern was indexed in the hexagonal space group P6(4), with unit-cell parameters a = 72.9, b = 72.9, c = 93.9 A.

Optimal intron analyses in the trimeresurus radiation of Asian pitvipers.

Nuclear introns are commonly used as phylogenetic markers, but a number of issues related to alignment strategies, indel treatments, and the incorporation of length-variant heterozygotes (LVHs) are not routinely addressed when generating phylogenetic hypotheses. Topological congruence in relation to an extensive mitochondrial DNA multigene phylogeny (derived from 2,423 bp of 12S, 16S, ND4, and CYTB genes) of the Asian pitviper Trimeresurus radiation was used to compare combinations of "by eye" and edited and unedited ClustalX 1.8 alignments of two nuclear introns. Indels were treated as missing data, fifth character states, and assigned simple and multistate codes. Upon recovery of the optimal alignment and indel treatment strategy, a total evidence approach was used to investigate the phylogenetic utility of the indels and test new generic arrangements within Trimeresurus. Approximately one third of the intron data partitions exhibited LVHs, suggesting that they are common in introns. Furthermore, a simple concatenation approach can facilitate the incorporation of LVHs into phylogenetic analyses to make use of all available data and investigate mechanisms of molecular evolution. Analyses of ClustalX 1.8-assisted alignments were generally more congruent than the "by eye" alignment and the analysis of a simple coded, edited ClustalX 1.8 (gap opening cost 5, gap extension cost 1) alignment revealed the most congruent tree. The total evidence approach supported the new arrangements within Trimeresurus, suggesting that the phylogeny should be considered as a working benchmark in Asian pitviper systematics. Finally, a critical appraisal of the diverse array of indels (56 to 57 per intron, ranging from 1 to 151 bp in length) suggested that they are a combination of Hennigian and homoplasious events unrelated to indel size or location within the intron. [Alignment; indels; intron analysis; length-variant heterozygotes; Trimeresurus.].

Amino acid sequence of a basic aspartate-49-phospholipase A2 from Trimeresurus flavoviridis venom and phylogenetic analysis of Crotalinae venom phospholipases A2.

Trimeresurus flavoviridis snakes inhabit the southwestern islands of Japan: Amami-Oshima, Tokunoshima and Okinawa. A phospholipase A2 (PLA2) of basic nature (pI 8.5) was isolated from the venom of Amami-Oshima T. flavoviridis. Its amino acid sequence determined by the ordinary procedures was completely in accord with that predicted from the nucleotide sequence of the cDNA previously cloned from Amami-Oshima T. flavoviridis venom gland, which was named PLA-B'. It consists of 122 amino acid residues and has aspartate at position 49. It induced edema in a mouse footpad assay and caused necrosis in mouse skeletal muscles. PLA-B' is similar in sequence to PLA-B (Tokunoshima) and PL-Y (Okinawa), both basic [Asp49]PLA2s, with a few amino acid substitutions, indicating occurrence of interisland mutation. Although PLA2s of Crotalinae subfamily were phylogenetically classified into four types, PLA2 (acidic or neutral [Asp49]PLA2) type, basic [Asp49]PLA2 type, neurotoxic [Asp49]PLA2 type and [Lys49]PLA2 type, it was ascertained that PLA2s of PLA2 type and [Lys49]PLA2 type are most essential as toxic components for Crotalinae snake venoms and that basic [Asp49]PLA2-type PLA2s are uniquely contained only in the venoms of T. flavoviridis species. Prediction of physiological activities of some PLA2s was made based on their location in the phylogenetic tree. Relationship of divergence of PLA2s via accelerated evolution followed by less rapid mutation and physiological activities was discussed.

Amino acid sequence of a thrombin like enzyme, elegaxobin II, from the venom of Trimeresurus elegans (Sakishima-Habu).

The amino acid sequence of a thrombin like enzyme , named elegaxobin II, isolated from the venom of Trimeresurus elegans (Sakishima-habu) was determined by Edman sequencing of the peptides which was derived from digests with cyanogen bromide, achromobacter protease I, trypsin, endoproteinase Asp-N, and chymotrypsin. Elegaxobin II consisted of 233 amino acids and showed conservation of the catalytic amino acid residues (His(57), Asp(102), and Ser(195)) of chymotrypsin family serine protease in its amino acid sequence. The carboxyterminal amino acid, Leu, was determined using carboxypeptidase Y. This enzyme contains glucosamine and an N-linked glycosylation site. Elegaxobin II was 91% homologous in sequence to elegaxobin and protease I from the same snake venom, and it was 67, 75, 31 and 26% homologous in sequences to flavoxobin, KN-BJ 2, human kallikrein and bovine thrombin, respectively. Elegaxobin II lacked thrombin's ETW (146-148) loop, as well as its functionally important YPPW (60-insertion loop).

Ecological diversification in a group of Indomalayan pitvipers (Trimeresurus): convergence in taxonomically important traits has implications for species identification.

We analyse molecular and phenotypic evolution in a group of taxonomically problematic Indomalayan pitvipers, the Trimeresurus sumatranus group. Mitochondrial DNA sequencing provides a well-resolved phylogeny, with each species representing a distinct lineage. Multivariate morphological analysis reveals a high level of phenotypic differentiation, which is congruent between the sexes but does not reflect phylogenetic history. An adaptive explanation for the observed pattern of differentiation is supported by independent contrasts analysis, which shows significant correlations between current ecology and the characters that most account for the variation between taxa, including those that are presently used to identify the species. Reduced precipitation and altitude, and increased temperature, are correlated with higher numbers of scales on the head, body and tail. It is hypothesized that scale number plays an important role in heat and water exchange by influencing the area of exposed of interstitial skin, and that colour pattern variation reflects selection pressures involving camouflage and thermoregulation. Ecological convergence in traits used for classification is found to have important implications for species identification where taxa are distributed over varying environments.

A phylogeny of four mitochondrial gene regions suggests a revised taxonomy for Asian pitvipers (Trimeresurus and Ovophis).

We present a phylogeny of the Asian pitvipers, based on 2403 bp of four mitochondrial gene regions. All but six known species of Trimeresurus sensu stricto (s.s.) as currently defined, as well as multiple populations of widespread species, which may yet be described as full species, and representatives of all other Asian pitviper genera, are included. Both the greater sampling and larger dataset provide improved resolution over previous studies and support the existence of distinct species groups within Trimeresurus s.s. Although all but two species currently referred to this genus form a monophyletic group, morphological and molecular analyses identify four subgroups that warrant recognition at the generic level. We propose a new generic arrangement to reflect these findings. We also highlight the non-monophyly of Ovophis, and propose a new genus to accommodate a species formerly assigned to Ovophis.