Abstract This study presents the first complete mitogenome of the Brazilian Atlantic bushmaster Lachesis with insights into snake evolution. The total length was 17,177 bp, consisting of 13 PCGs, 22 tRNAs, two rRNAs and a duplicate control region (CRs). Almost all genes were encoded by the heavy-strand, except for the ND6 gene and eight tRNAs (tRNA-Gln, Ala, Asn, Cys, Tyr, Ser[TGA anticodon], Glu, Pro). Only ATG, ATA, and ATC were starting codons for protein-coding sequences. Stop codons mainly were TAA, AGA, AGG, and TAG; whereas ND1, ND3, and CYTB terminated with incomplete stop codons. Phylogeny retrieved Lachesis within the Crotalinae as the sister group of Agkistrodon; and the Lachesis+Agkistrodon clade as the sister group of (Sistrurus+Crotalus)+Bothrops. The tree supports Crotalinae, Viperinae, and Azemiopinae in the Viperidae family, being sister taxa of Colubridae+(Elapidae+Psammophiidae). The mean genetic distance across 15 snake families and 57 nucleotide sequences was 0.37. The overall mean value of genetic distance across the Crotalinae was 0.23, with Lachesis muta exhibiting the shortest distance of 0.2 with Agkistrodon piscivorus, Protobothrops dabieshanensis and P. flavoviridis and the greatest 0.25 with Gloydius blomhoffii, Trimeresurus albolabris, S. miliarius, and Deinagkistrodon acutus. The complete Atlantic L. muta mitogenome presented herein is only the third annotated mitogenome from more than 430 described Brazilian snake species. evolution 17177 17 177 17,17 bp 1 PCGs 2 CRs. CRs . (CRs) heavystrand, heavystrand heavy strand, strand heavy-strand ND tRNAGln, tRNAGln tRNA Gln, Gln (tRNA-Gln Ala Asn Cys Tyr SerTGA Ser TGA anticodon, anticodon , anticodon] Glu Pro. Pro Pro) ATG ATA proteincoding protein coding TAA AGA AGG TAG ND1 ND3 LachesisAgkistrodon Sistrurus+Crotalus+Bothrops. SistrurusCrotalusBothrops Sistrurus+Crotalus +Bothrops. Sistrurus Crotalus Bothrops (Sistrurus+Crotalus)+Bothrops Viperinae family Colubridae+Elapidae+Psammophiidae. ColubridaeElapidaePsammophiidae Colubridae+ Elapidae+Psammophiidae Colubridae Elapidae Psammophiidae Colubridae+(Elapidae+Psammophiidae) 5 037 0 37 0.37 023 23 0.23 02 0. piscivorus P 025 25 blomhoffii albolabris S miliarius acutus L 43 species 1717 17,1 (CRs Sistrurus+Crotalus+Bothrops SistrurusCrotalus +Bothrops Colubridae+Elapidae+Psammophiidae ElapidaePsammophiidae Colubridae+(Elapidae+Psammophiidae 03 3 0.3 4 171 17,

A enzima UDP-N-acetilglicosamina pirofosforilase de Moniliophthora perniciosa (CCMB 0257), o fungo patogênico causador da doença vassoura-de-bruxa do Theobroma cacao, foi parcialmente purificada por precipitação com sulfato de amônio e cromatografia de gel filtração em Sephacryl S-200. O tampão de extração da enzima foi o fosfato de sódio, 0,050 mol L-1, pH 7,0, contendo 1,0 mol L-1 de NaCl. A metodologia de superfície de resposta (MSR) foi usada para a obtenção do pH e temperatura ótima. Os resultados mostraram quatro diferentes isoenzimas (PyroMp I, PyroMp II, PyroMp III e PyroMp IV) que apresentaram pH ótimo na faixa de 6,9-8,4 e temperatura ótima variando entre 28 a 68 °C. A estrutura 3D de pirofosforilase de M. perniciosa foi obtida por modelagem comparativa. O modelo obtido mostrou uma boa qualidade, possuindo 78,6% de aminoácidos nas regiões energeticamente favoráveis. O modelo foi então submetido a simulações de dinâmica molecular (DM). O modelo apresentou uma boa qualidade geométrica após as simulações de DM (91,1% -gráfico de Ramachandran). A procura pelo sítio ativo da enzima mostrou que este é mantido extremamente conservado. Este modelo pode ser útil para desenvolvimento de inibidores contra a doença vassoura de bruxa.

The enzyme UDP-N-acetylglucosamine pyrophosphorylase (PyroMp) from Moniliophthora perniciosa (CCMB 0257), a pathogenic fungal strain and the causative agent of the witches' broom disease in Theobroma cacao, was partially purified by precipitation with ammonium sulfate and gel filtration on Sephacryl S-200. The buffer for enzyme extraction was sodium phosphate, 0.050 mol L-1, pH 7.0, containing 1.0 mol L-1 NaCl. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to determine the optimum pH and temperature conditions. Four different isoenzymes (PyroMp I, PyroMp II, PyroMp III and PyroMp IV) were obtained with optimal pH ranging from 6.9-8.4 and optimum temperature ranging from 28 to 68 °C. The 3D structure of pyrophosphorylase of M. perniciosa was determined by comparative modeling. The model obtained showed a good quality, possessing 78.6% of amino acids in energetically allowed regions. The model was then submitted for DM simulation and showed a good geometric quality (91.1% Ramachandran plot). The active site of the enzyme was found to be extremely well conserved. This model will be useful for developing new inhibitors against witches' broom disease.

A enzima glucanase de Moniliophthora perniciosa foi produzida em meio líquido e purificada a partir do sobrenadante da cultura. A metodologia de superfície de resposta (MSR) foi usada para avaliar os efeitos das variáveis, incluindo indutor (extrato de levedura) e tempo de fermentação, na atividade da glucanase de M. perniciosa detectada no meio de cultura. A enzima presente no sobrenadante foi purificada em duas etapas: precipitação com sulfato de amônio (70%) e cromatografia de filtração em gel em Sephacryl S-200. A produção da enzima glucanase foi maior na concentração de 5,9 g L-1 de extrato de levedura e 13 dias de fermentação. Os resultados mostraram três diferentes isoformas (GLUI, GLUII e GLUIII) com fatores de purificação de 4,33, 1,86 e 3,03, respectivamente. O extrato enzimático parcialmente purificado mostrou um pH ótimo de 5,0 e uma temperatura ótima de 40°C. A atividade enzimática aumentou na presença de KCl em todas as concentrações estudadas. A atividade da glucanase foi maior na presença de NaCl 0,2 M. A enzima apresentou alta estabilidade térmica, perdendo apenas 10,20% de sua atividade específica após 40 minutos de incubação a 90°C. Os resultados de termoestabilidade e a atividade em baixo pH mostraram que a enzima glucanase de M. perniciosa tem características promissoras para futuras aplicações industriais.

The enzyme glucanase from Moniliophthora perniciosa was produced in liquid medium and purified from the culture supernatant. A multivariate statistical approach (Response Surface Methodology - RSM) was employed to evaluate the effect of variables, including inducer (yeast extract) and fermentation time, on secreted glucanase activities M. perniciosa detected in the culture medium. The crude enzyme present in the supernatant was purified in two steps: precipitation with ammonium sulfate (70%) and gel filtration chromatography on Sephacryl S-200. The best inducer and fermentation time for glucanase activities were 5.9 g L-1 and 13 days, respectively. The results revealed three different isoforms (GLUI, GLUII and GLUIII) with purification factors of 4.33, 1.86 and 3.03, respectively. The partially purified enzymatic extract showed an optimum pH of 5.0 and an optimum temperature of 40°C. The enzymatic activity increased in the presence of KCl at all concentrations studied. The glucanase activity was highest in the presence of 0.2 M NaCl. The enzyme showed high thermal stability, losing only 10.20% of its specific activity after 40 minutes of incubation at 90°C. A purified enzyme with relatively good thermostability that is stable at low pH might be used in future industrial applications.

In this work, the thrombin-like enzyme (TLE) from Bothrops atrox has been identified by mass spectrometry and its enzymatic activity evaluated upon several synthetic substrates. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity using three chromatography steps on Sephadex G-75, CM-Sephadex C-50 and Agarose-PAB. Also, molecular weight by PAGE-SDS was determined. For molecular identification of this enzyme, mass spectrometry-based peptide mass fingerprinting was used and later in silico analysis. Enzymatic activities were determined using bovine fibrinogen, BApNA and also upon specific chromogenic substrates such as S-2238, S-2251 y S-2266. As a result of these biochemical and structural procedures, we obtained a TLE from B. atrox venom with a molecular weight of 29,6 kDa. Mass spectrometry analysis of obtained peptides, allow us to identify this enzyme as a venombin A, showing a 75% sequence homology. After recording enzymatic activity, this TLE showed coagulant activity on bovine fibrinogen and upon BApNA, S-2238 y S-2266, being unable to hydrolyze S-2251 substrate. Using this combination of structural and functional approaches, we have identified the main component of B. atrox venom related to its coagulant activity, as well as a detailed evaluation of its enzymatic activity upon several substrates.

En el presente trabajo se ha realizado la identificación molecular de la enzima similar a trombina (EST) del veneno de Bothrops atrox y se ha evaluado su actividad enzimática sobre diversos sustratos sintéticos. La enzima fue purificada utilizando tres pasos cromatrográficos, sobre Sephadex G-75, CM-Sephadex C-50 y Agarosa-PAB, determinándose su peso molecular por PAGE-SDS. La identificación molecular de la enzima aislada se realizó por la técnica de peptide mass fingerprinting basada en espectrometría de masas MALDI-TOF y posterior análisis in silico. Las actividades fibrinocoagulante y amidolítica fueron ensayadas sobre fibrinógeno bovino y BApNA, respectivamente, así como la hidrólisis sobre los sustratos cromogénicos específicos S-2238, S-2251 y S-2266. Como resultado de los ensayos bioquímicos y estructurales, la EST del veneno de B. atrox, presentó un peso molecular de 29,6 kDa. El análisis mediante espectrometría de masas de los péptidos obtenidos, permitió identificar a esta enzima como una venombina A, presentando una identidad del 75%. Del análisis de actividad enzimática, se obtuvo que la EST de B. atrox produjo coagulación del fibrinógeno bovino y presentó actividad sobre BApNA, S-2238 y S-2266, siendo incapaz de hidrolizar el sustrato S-2251. El empleo de estas aproximaciones estructurales y funcionales ha permitido lograr la identificación molecular del principal componente del veneno de B. atrox relacionado con su acción coagulante, así como evaluar en detalle la naturaleza de su actividad enzimática sobre diversos sustratos.

We have determined some biochemical properties of a thrombin-like enzyme (TLE) isolated from Bothrops atroxperuvian snake venom "jergon". In this concern, TLE was purified until homogeneity using three chromatographical steps: on Sephadex G-75, CM-Sephadex C-50 and Agarose-PAB. Furthermore, molecular weight was determinate by PAGE-SDS and associated carbohydrates by hydrolysis and analysis of hexoses, hexosamines and sialic acid. Then, fibrinocoagulant, amidolytic and sterasic activities were measured on bovine fibrinogen, BApNAand BAEE, respectively.As a result of these analyses, we determined that this enzyme represents 1,7% of total venom and was 25,5-fold purified with a 43,3% yield,using BApNA as substrate. This enzyme had 29,6 kDa, where 14,2% was associated carbohydrates. The TLE of B. atrox produced coagulation of bovine fibrinogen and had enzymatic activity on BAEE and BApNA. In conclusion, we have purified and characterized the main component of B. atrox venom related to its coagulant activity.

Se ha determinado algunas propiedades bioquímicas de la enzima similar a trombina (EST) de la serpiente peruana "jergón". Para este fin, la enzima fue purificada utilizando tres pasos cromatrográficos: Sephadex G-75, CM-Sephadex C-50 y Agarosa-PAB. Asimismo, se determino el peso molecular por PAGE-SDS y el porcentaje de carbohidratos asociados mediante hidrolisis y análisis de hexosas, hexosaminas y acido siálico. Se ensayaron las actividades fibrinocoagulante, amidolìtica y esterásica, sobre fibrinógeno bovino, BApNA y BAEE, respectivamente. Como resultado del análisis se determino que la enzima constituye el 1,7% del veneno completo, siendo purificada 25,5 veces y con un rendimiento del 43,3% utilizando BApNA como sustrato. La enzima presenta un peso molecular de 29,6 kDa, del cual el 14,2% lo constituyen los carbohidratos asociados. La EST de B. atrox produjo coagulación del fibrinógeno bovino y presento actividad sobre BAEE y BApNA. De esta manera se ha logrado purificar y caracterizar al principal componente del veneno de B. atrox relacionado con su actividad coagulante.