BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This paper reports the application of comparative proteomic and metabolomic approaches to reveal the molecular basis for important phenotypic changes Leishmania parasites that are deficient in glucose uptake. Leishmania cause a very significant disease burden across the world and there are few effective drugs available for control. This work shows that proteomics and metabolomics can produce complementary data that advance understanding of parasite metabolism and highlight potential new targets for chemotherapy.
BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Comprehensive venom proteomes of D. russelii from different locales will facilitate better understanding of the geographical variability of the venom in both qualitative and quantitative terms. This is essential to provide scientific basis for the interpretation of differences in the clinical presentation of Russell's viper envenomation. The study revealed a unique venom proteome of the Pakistani D. russelii from the wild (Indus Delta), in which PLA2 predominated (~60% of total venom proteins). The finding unveiled remarkable differences in the venom compositions between the wild (present study) and the captive specimens reported previously. The integration of toxicity tests enabled the correlation of the venom proteome with the envenoming pathophysiology, where the venom showed potent lethality mediated through coagulopathic activity. The Indian VINS Polyvalent Antivenom (VPAV) showed binding activity toward the venom protein antigens; however the immunorecognition of small proteins and PLA2-dominating fractions was low to moderate. Consistently, the antivenom neutralized the toxicity of the wild Pakistani Russell's viper venom at moderate efficacies. Our results suggest that it may be possible to enhance the Indian antivenom potency against the Pakistani viper venom by the inclusion of venoms from a wider geographical range including that from Pakistan into the immunogen formulation.
BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The Indian krait or blue krait, Bungarus caeruleus, is a highly venomous snake that contributes to the snakebite envenoming problem in South Asia. This is a less aggressive snake species but its accidental bite can cause rapid and severe neurotoxicity, in which the patient may succumb to paralysis, respiratory failure and death within a short frame of time. The proteomic analysis of its venom (sourced from Sri Lanka) unveils its content that well correlates to its envenoming pathophysiology, driven primarily by the abundant presynaptic and postsynaptic neurotoxins (β-bungarotoxins and κ-neurotoxins, respectively). The absence of cytotoxins in the venom proteome also correlates with the lack of local envenoming sign (pain, swelling), and explains why the bite may be insidious until later stage when paralysis sets in. The muscarinic toxin-like proteins in the venom may be the cause of severe abdominal pain that precedes paralysis in many cases, and justifies the need of closely monitoring this symptom in suspected cases. Venom samples from Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan exhibited no remarkable variation in protein profiling and reacted immunologically toward the VINS Indian Polyvalent Antivenom, though to a varying extent. The antivenom is effective in neutralizing the Sri Lankan and Indian venoms, confirming its clinical use in the countries. The antivenom efficacy against the Pakistani venom, however, may be further optimized by incorporating the Pakistani venom in the antivenom production.
SIGNIFICANCE: Plant proteomics study is a rapidly growing area of biological research that is positively impacting plant science. With the recent advances in new technologies, proteomics not only allows us to comprehensively analyses crop proteins, but also help us to understand the functions of the genes. In this review, we highlighted recent proteomic studies in commercial crops and updated the advances in our understanding of the proteomes of these crops. We believe that proteomic-based research will continue to grow and contribute to the improvement of crops.
SIGNIFICANCE: A shotgun proteomic approach adopted in this study revealed the compositional details of the venom of common tiger snake from Australia, Notechis scutatus. The proteomic findings provided additional information on the relative abundances of toxins and the detection of proteins of minor expression unreported previously. The potent lethal effect of the venom was neutralized by bioCSL Sea Snake Antivenom, an anticipated finding due to the fact that the Sea Snake Antivenom is actually bivalent in nature, being raised against a mix of venoms of the beaked sea snake (Hydrophis schistosus) and N. scutatus. However, it is surprising to note that bioCSL Sea Snake Antivenom neutralized N. scutatus venom much more effectively compared to the targeted sea snake venom by a marked difference in potency of approximately 6-fold. This phenomenon may be explained by the main difference in the proteomes of the two venoms, where H. schistosus venom is dominated by short-neurotoxins in high abundance - this is a poorly immunogenic toxin group that has been increasingly recognized in the venoms of a few cobras. Further investigations should be directed toward strategies to improve the neutralization of short-neurotoxins, in line with the envisioned production of an effective pan-regional elapid antivenom.