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Abstract
The major viperid snakes present in Taiwan today are: Daboia russelli siamensis, Deinagkistrodon acutus, Protobothrops mucrosquamatus, Trimeresurus stejnegeri, Ovophis monticola and Ovophis gracilis. As suggested by the species trees deduced from mtDNA sequences of the family Viperidae, these species apparently belong to five different genera. Molecular cloning, N-terminal sequencing, and mass spectrometry have facilitated the sequence-determination of venom proteins. Previous examples of using venom proteins as characteristics for the phylogenetic and evolutionary studies are reviewed herein. Two new phylogeny trees using protein sequence datasets for the crotalid venom acidic phospholipases and the disintegrins are shown. Both trees grossly reveal phylogeographic relationships between the species, although some inconsistencies exist. Moreover, distinct protein markers in each of the Taiwanese viperid venoms and their relations to the snakebite symptoms are discussed in terms of the known snake systematics.
| Abbreviations used: | ||
| HPLC | = | high performance liquid chromatography |
| PCR | = | polymerase chain reaction |
| PLA | = | phospholipase A2 |
| Abbreviations used: | ||
| HPLC | = | high performance liquid chromatography |
| PCR | = | polymerase chain reaction |
| PLA | = | phospholipase A2 |