Reverse Biology Applied to Micrurus corallinus, a South American Coral Snake

Abstract

Little is known about the coral snakes venom components. Clarification of the primary structure of polypeptidic toxins was hampered until now by the lack of enough venom for protein purification and chemistry. Using the Reverse Biology approach, several potential Micrurus corallinus toxins were characterized by cDNA cloning. The deduced proteins shared homology with known snake toxins, such as α-neurotoxins, phospholipase A₂, natriuretic peptides and lectins. To our knowledge, these are the first complete primary structure characterization of coral snake venom toxins.