Descrição da família de proteínas Loxtox e a identificação de um novo grupo de fosfolipases D na glândula de peçonha da aranha Loxosceles similis.

Abstract

Spider bites from the Loxosceles genus (loxoscelismo) are a recognized public health problem in Brazil. However, the pathophysiology of loxoscelism caused by the Loxosceles similis species is not fully comprehended. In this work the RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) from the venom gland of the L. similis spider was performed, looking for identifying and analyzing the main components of the venom, the phospholipases D. The sequences were aligned based on their classical domains and a phylogenetic tree was constructed. During the bioinformatics analysis, 23 complete sequences of phospholipases D were found and they were classified as Loxtox proteins, since they presented the typical catalytic site, Mg2+-binding domain and the catalytic loop. Three phospholipases D sequences did not present the typical domains and were also identified in this work. They were analyzed separately and named Phospholipases D from L. similis (PhosphoLipase D - L. similis: PLD-Ls). There was also an analysis on the expression profile of other putative venom components such as proteases, other phospholipases and insecticidal peptides. This study is the first to characterize sequences from phospholipases D from Loxosceles spiders through RNA-seq. These results contribute to a better understanding of the venom and can yet reveal novel tools for immunological and biotechnological applications.