Between sand and salt: phylogeography of the Australian salt lake wolf spider Lycosa salifodina (Araneae: Lycosidae)

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  Between sand and salt: phylogeography of the Australian salt lake wolf spider Lycosa salifodina (Araneae: Lycosidae) Abstract Australian salt lakes are distinctive ecosystems that support specialized biota and provide opportunities to study evolutionary and biogeographic processes. Many salt lakes occur along ancient river channels (palaeodrainage systems), which form natural replicates for testing hypotheses of vicariance and dispersal among isolated habitats. We examined the phylogeography and genetic structure of the Australian wolf spider Lycosa salifodina McKay, 1976, a salt lake habitat specialist widespread across south-western Australia. We tested the hypothesis that genetic structure in L. salifodina primarily reflects long-term isolation among palaeodrainage systems, with reduced population structuring in more frequently inundated and interconnected lakes. Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial CO1 sequences from 26 specimens (collected 2023–2024) recovered three maj...

Molecular Mechanisms of Efficacy Variation in Antivenoms: Insights from a Malayan Pit Viper (Calloselasma rhodostoma) Bite in Vietnam

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Molecular Mechanisms of Efficacy Variation in Antivenoms: Insights from a Malayan Pit Viper (Calloselasma rhodostoma) Bite in Vietnam

Abstract

Background: Although antivenom is the standard treatment for snakebite envenoming, its efficacy may be impacted by geographic variation in venom composition, emphasizing the need for region-specific antivenom development. Methods: We report a case of snakebite envenoming, in which the patient was bitten on the hand by a captive Malayan pit viper (Calloselasma rhodostoma) with typical clinical manifestations following. Antivenom (produced in Thailand) was administered at 33 and 39 h post-bite. Venom from the causative individual snake was collected for compositional analysis via SDS-PAGE. Enzymatic activity of the venom was evaluated through the degradation of casein and phospholipid substrates, along with the assessment of enzymatic inhibition by two regionally specific antivenoms produced in Vietnam (AV. Cr. VN.) and Thailand (AV. Cr. TL.). Results: The patient showed good recovery, with complete normalization by day 7. SDS-PAGE profiling of the venom revealed five major enzymes, with SVSP, SVMP and PLA2 being the most abundant (16.7%, 40.11% and 26.11%, respectively). Antivenom inhibition tests revealed remaining casein percentages of 67.43% (AV. Cr. VN) and 59.35% (AV. Cr. TL). Blood agar assays indicated that phospholipase activity was reduced to 21.01% by AV. Cr. VN. and 23.30% by AV. Cr. TL. Conclusions: Our results show that the Vietnamese antivenom generated greater inhibitory activity against proteinases compared to the Thai product, underscoring the importance of using regionally specific antivenoms that are more effective against the venom profiles of locality-matched snake populations.

Le, T. Q., Nguyen, N. T., Pham, Y. B., Vu, M. B., Le, N. T., Nguyen, N. S., Balchan, N. R., Tan, C. H., Duong, T. H., Nguyen, H. H., & Nguyen, T. T. (2025). Molecular Mechanisms of Efficacy Variation in Antivenoms: Insights from a Malayan Pit Viper (Calloselasma rhodostoma) Bite in Vietnam. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 10(12), 331. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10120331