| whole-genome sequencing of a green bush viper reovirus reveals a shared evolutionary history between reptilian and unusual mammalian orthoreoviruses. | in this study, we sequenced the whole genome of a reovirus isolated from a green bush viper (atheris squamigera). the bush viper reovirus shared several features with other orthoreoviruses, including its genome organization. in phylogenetic analysis, this strain was monophyletic with broome virus and baboon orthoreovirus, indicating that these viruses might have originated from a common ancestor. these new molecular data supplement previous information based mainly on biological properties of re ... | 2014 | 23921622 |
| molecular characterization of three novel phospholipase a₂ proteins from the venom of atheris chlorechis, atheris nitschei and atheris squamigera. | secretory phospholipase a₂ (spla₂) is known as a major component of snake venoms and displays higher-order catalytic hydrolysis functions as well as a wide range of pathological effects. atheris is not a notoriously dangerous genus of snakes although there are some reports of fatal cases after envenomation due to the effects of coagulation disturbances and hemorrhaging. molecular characterization of atheris venom enzymes is incomplete and there are only a few reports in the literature. here, we ... | 2016 | 27258312 |
| the unusual metal ion binding ability of histidyl tags and their mutated derivatives. | polyhistidine-tags are often used for the affinity purification of polyhistidine-tagged recombinant proteins. these sequences are also found in nature and are often highly conserved across different species. however, their exact role in the biological systems is not clear. the purpose of this work is to shed light on the behavior of poly-his sequences in their interactions with metal ions. this work illustrates the first study of novel poly-(his-ala) peptides that bind cu(ii) applying both exper ... | 2016 | 26923149 |
| african viper poly-his tag peptide fragment efficiently binds metal ions and is folded into an α-helical structure. | snake venoms are complex mixtures of toxic and often spectacularly biologically active components. some african vipers contain polyhistidine and polyglycine peptides, which play a crucial role in the interaction with metal ions during the inhibition of snake metalloproteases. polyhistidine peptide fragments, known as poly-his tags, play many important functions, e.g., in metal ion transport in bacterial chaperon proteins. in this paper, we report a detailed characterization of cu(2+), ni(2+), an ... | 2015 | 26214303 |
| cloning and characterisation of three novel disintegrin precursors from the venoms of three atheris species: atheris chlorechis, atheris nitschei and atheris squamigera. | snake venom constitutes one of the most complex mixtures of naturally-occurring toxic proteins/polypeptides and a large number of these possess very profound biological activities. disintegrins, that are commonly found in viper venoms, are low molecular weight proteins that usually contain an -arg-gly-asp- (-rgd-) motif that is known to be involved in cell adhesion ligand recognition, binding specifically to cell surface integrin receptors and also exhibiting platelet anti-aggregation activity. ... | 2013 | 23732124 |
| the venom of the snake genus atheris contains a new class of peptides with clusters of histidine and glycine residues. | we investigated venoms from members of the genus atheris (serpentes, viperidae), namely the rough scale bush viper (atheris squamigera), the green bush viper (a. chlorechis) and the great lakes bush viper (a. nitschei), using mass spectrometry-based strategies, relying on matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (maldi-tof-ms) and electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (esi-ms/ms) with de novo peptide sequencing. we discovered a set of novel peptides ... | 2007 | 17206746 |
| use of "near middle east antivenom" to treat african bush viper envenomation. | venom from an african bush viper is primarily hemotoxic and potentially life threatening. existing, commercialy available antivenoms may not neutralize venom of this genus. a 25-y-old male was brought to the emergency room diaphoretic and hypotensive (70/40 mmhg) after a bite from a pet african bush viper. a puncture wound on the left thumb was leaking slightly, but there was no evidence of blood loss, edema or bruising. approximately 100 min after exposure, the patient experienced a small amoun ... | 2004 | 15487650 |
| the bush vipers, genus atheris cope, 1862 (squamata: viperidae) of bioko island, gulf of guinea, with the description of a new species. | two species of bush vipers, genus atheris cope, 1862, have been reported for the continental island of bioko, gulf of guinea - atheris squamigera and a putatively undescribed species, morphologically similar to atheris chlorechis. the latter was only known from one specimen collected in the early 1900s and its taxonomic identity has never been fully resolved. based on recently collected specimens of atheris from bioko island, we reviewed all the available data and specimens through detailed morp ... | 2020 | 33056808 |