TY - JOUR

T1 - Venom-on-a-chip: a fast and efficient method for comparative venomics

AU - Zancolli, Giulia

AU - Sanz, Libia

AU - Calvete, Juan J.

AU - Wuster, Wolfgang

PY - 2017/5/28

Y1 - 2017/5/28

N2 - Venom research has attracted an increasing interest in disparate fields, from drugdevelopment and pharmacology, to evolutionary biology and ecology, and rational antivenomproduction. Advances in “-omics” technologies have allowed the characterization of an increasingnumber of animal venoms, but the methodology currently available is suboptimal for large-scalecomparisons of venom profiles. Here, we describe a fast, reproducible and semi-automated protocolfor investigating snake venom variability, especially at the intraspecific level, using the AgilentBioanalyzer on-chip technology. Our protocol generated a phenotype matrix which can be usedfor robust statistical analysis and correlations of venom variation with ecological correlates, orother extrinsic factors. We also demonstrate the ease and utility of combining on-chip technologywith previously fractionated venoms for detection of specific individual toxin proteins. Our studydescribes a novel strategy for rapid venom discrimination and analysis of compositional variation atmultiple taxonomic levels, allowing researchers to tackle evolutionary questions and unveiling thedrivers of the incredible biodiversity of venoms.

AB - Venom research has attracted an increasing interest in disparate fields, from drugdevelopment and pharmacology, to evolutionary biology and ecology, and rational antivenomproduction. Advances in “-omics” technologies have allowed the characterization of an increasingnumber of animal venoms, but the methodology currently available is suboptimal for large-scalecomparisons of venom profiles. Here, we describe a fast, reproducible and semi-automated protocolfor investigating snake venom variability, especially at the intraspecific level, using the AgilentBioanalyzer on-chip technology. Our protocol generated a phenotype matrix which can be usedfor robust statistical analysis and correlations of venom variation with ecological correlates, orother extrinsic factors. We also demonstrate the ease and utility of combining on-chip technologywith previously fractionated venoms for detection of specific individual toxin proteins. Our studydescribes a novel strategy for rapid venom discrimination and analysis of compositional variation atmultiple taxonomic levels, allowing researchers to tackle evolutionary questions and unveiling thedrivers of the incredible biodiversity of venoms.

KW - Bioanalyzer

KW - Crotalus

KW - on-chip electrophoresis

KW - population-level variation

KW - venom composition

UR - http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/9/6/179

M3 - Article

VL - 9

SP - 1

EP - 15

JO - Toxins

JF - Toxins

SN - 2072-6651

IS - 179

ER -