Structural variability of neurotoxins of Orthochirus scrobiculosus scorpions from different natural habitats

摘要

The structural variability of the Os3 neurotoxin from the venom of O. scrobiculosus was studied using a cloning method developed for the family of cDNAs that encode the highly homologous Os3-like polpeptides. The Turkmenian scorpion venom containeda family of closely related Os3-like polypeptides. Mass-spectrometry indicated that crude venoms from scorpions inhabiting Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan differed in the amino acid composition of their toxic components depending on the habitat.