Neonate-to-adult transition of snake venomics in the short-tailed pit viper, Gloydius brevicaudus

Snake venoms undergo ontogenetic shifts in biochemical and pharmacological activities. This may be related to variation in venom components associated with the ontogenetic shift in diet. We used the short-tailed pit viper Gloydius brevicaudus that displays ontogenetic shifts in diet to examine whether the species displays a neonate-to-adult transition of snake venomics. Venoms from neonates and adults were pooled separately and then analyzed by 2-DE, MALDI-TOF-MS/MS and iTRAQ technologies. The 2-DE profiles showed that the main components in both types of venoms were acidic proteins, and that neonates and adults differed in snake venomics. The proteins with molecular masses/pI of similar to 12-39 kDa/4.0-4.6, similar to 36-57 kDa/5.6-7.0 and similar to 65-92 kDa/4.5-5.8 were more abundant in the neonate venom, while the proteins with molecular masses/pl of similar to 12-19 kDa/4.6-6.4, similar to 23-30 kDa/5.4-6.3 and similar to 35-62 kDa/4.6-5.4 were more abundant in the adult venom. The iTRAQ analysis showed quantitative changes in various toxin families, including mainly metalloproteinases, serine proteinases, phospholipase A(2)s and C-type lectins. The N-deglycosylation analysis demonstrated that glycosylation was an important posttranslational modification of snake venom. Our results show a neonate-to-adult transition of snake venomics in G. brevicaudus. Such a transition might be driven by the divergence in dietary habits between neonates and adults. Biological significance This study is first to demonstrate a neonate-to-adult transition of snake venomics in G. brevicaudus, and the results will be helpful in predicting and treating clinical pathologic symptoms caused by the snake at different developmental stages. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.