Passive transponder implantation in Theraphosidae: A tool for traceability and conservation

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  Passive transponder implantation in Theraphosidae: A tool for traceability and conservation Abstract Illegal wildlife trade represents a major global threat to biodiversity, with tarantulas among the most heavily trafficked invertebrate groups due to increasing demand in the international pet market, highlighting the urgent need for effective regulatory frameworks and reliable specimen-level traceability systems to distinguish legally bred individuals from illegally sourced ones. Individual identification is essential to support legal trade, strengthen enforcement mechanisms and reduce illegal trafficking; therefore, this study evaluated the feasibility and safety of passive integrated transponder microchip (PIT TAG) implantation for individual identification in multiple tarantula species under controlled laboratory conditions. Post-implantation parameters assessed included anaesthesia recovery time, feeding behaviour, ecdysis frequency, PIT TAG retention across successive moults...

Venomics across the Bothrops neuwiedi Species Complex Revealed a P-III Snake Venom Metalloproteases/K49-PLA2 Dichotomy and a Remarkable Paraspecific Neutralization of the Brazilian Pentabothropic Antivenom

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Venomics across the Bothrops neuwiedi Species Complex Revealed a P-III Snake Venom Metalloproteases/K49-PLA2 Dichotomy and a Remarkable Paraspecific Neutralization of the Brazilian Pentabothropic Antivenom

Abstract

Snakes of the Bothrops neuwiedi complex are widely distributed and represent medically important species in Brazil. Here, we report compositional and functional profiles of the venom of seven species of Bothrops neuwiedi group: Bothrops mattogrossensis, Bothrops pauloensis, Bothrops pubescens, Bothrops diporus, Bothrops neuwiedi, Bothrops marmoratus, and Bothrops erythromelas. Toxin composition of individual and pooled venoms showed remarkable inter- and intraspecific variability of the relative abundance of toxins (evidenced by SDS-PAGE and RP-HPLC) and enzymatic activities (proteolytic, PLA2, and thrombin-like activities). In vivo analyses showed that B. erythromelas venom is the most hemorrhagic, B. diporus was the most lethal, and B. pubescens showed the highest myotoxic activity. Histopathological analysis showed that all venoms induced edema, hemorrhage, inflammatory infiltrate, and necrosis of muscle fibers. Consistent with large research evidence on the paraspecificity of various commercial antivenoms generated in Latin America, the pentabothropic antivenom produced by Instituto Butantan showed a high profile of immunoreactivity and lethality neutralization capability toward the venoms of the seven species of the B. neuwiedi clade. Interpreted through the prism of evolution, our data revealed a PIII-SVMP/K49-PLA2 compositional dichotomy and a remarkable conservation of immunological cross-reactivity across congeneric venoms throughout the 12–16 million years of Bothrops phylogeny.


Galizio NDC, Serino-Silva C, Fabri Bittencourt Rodrigues C, Stuginski DR, Rocha MMTD, Serapicos EO, Barbarini CC, Oliveira RB, Sant'Anna SS, Grego KF, Sanz L, Tena-Garcés J, de Roodt AR, Calvete JJ, Tanaka-Azevedo AM, de Morais-Zani K. Venomics across the Bothrops neuwiedi Species Complex Revealed a P-III Snake Venom Metalloproteases/K49-PLA2 Dichotomy and a Remarkable Paraspecific Neutralization of the Brazilian Pentabothropic Antivenom. J Proteome Res. 2026 Jan 22. doi: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.5c00933. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41570121.