Molecular Recognition and Immunopharmacological Implications of Serratiopeptidase Targeting Snake Venom Bradykinin-Potentiating Peptides

  Molecular Recognition and Immunopharmacological Implications of Serratiopeptidase Targeting Snake Venom Bradykinin-Potentiating Peptides Abstract Purpose Bradykinin-potentiating peptides (BPPs), found in snake venom, are known to modulate cardiovascular functions, but their susceptibility to enzymatic degradation remains poorly understood. Methods Models were generated using AlphaFold-Colab for five small BPPs (< 9 amino acids) that did not have experimentally solved structures, and those BPPs which had reliable predictions of structure (pLDDT > 80) were used for docking studies. Protein-peptide docking experiments were done using HADDOCK for studying the interaction between wild-type (WT) and mutant serratiopeptidase with BPPs. After selecting the best complex, simulation of the complex was done using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for 100 ns and binding energy determination using MM/PBSA analysis. For checking the mechanical stability of the protein-peptide complexes...

Scorpio basraensis sp. n. from southern Iraq (Scorpiones: Scorpionidae)

 


Scorpio basraensis sp. n. from southern Iraq (Scorpiones: Scorpionidae)

Abstract


A new scorpion species, Scorpio basraensis sp. n., is described and illustrated from Basra Province, southern Iraq. Scorpio basraensis sp. n. is compared with all known species of the genus Scorpio Linnaeus, 1758 occurring in countries surrounding Iraq. The new species can be distinguished by the circular genital operculum in males and the cordiform genital operculum in females (not posteriorly elongated), a densely hirsute body, appendages and metasoma, a distinctly elongated telson vesicle, discrete granules on the external surface of the chela manus that are not flattened, and pectinal tooth counts of 11–13 in males and 9–11 in females. With the description of this species, the number of scorpion species known from Iraq increases to 22, whereas the number of recognized species in the genus Scorpio reaches 33.

Yağmur, Ersen A.; Makki, Jafar A.; and Najim, Shurooq A. (2026) "Scorpio basraensis sp. n. from southern Iraq (Scorpiones: Scorpionidae)," Euscorpius: Vol. 2026: Iss. 442, Article 1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33470/1536-9307.1479

Available at: https://mds.marshall.edu/euscorpius/vol2026/iss442/1