Meeting Abstract
Agkistrodon contortrix, the copperhead, is one of many species of Viperidae:Crotalinae to use disintegrin proteins in their venom to subdue and digest prey. Disintegrins, non-enzymatic proteins that inhibit the normal function of cells by binding to transmembrane integrin proteins, block normal cell-to-cell interactions within envenomated prey. Although all disintegrins are thought to act in a similar manner, they can be classified according to their length, number of disulphide bonds, and presence or absence of dimeric bonding. These structural differences lead to differences in binding affinities and thus activity of the protein. Copperheads have a homodimeric disintegrin named Contortrostatin, which has drawn a great deal of attention from medical researchers as a treatment to prevent the spread of cancer within an individual. Contortrostatin was isolated and cloned from cDNA of the Southern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix), and no sequences from the other four subspecies (A. contortrix pictigaster, A. contortrix phaeogaster, A. contortrix laticinctus, and A. contortrix mokasen) have been published. The aim of this study was to isolate and sequence the genomic Contortrostatin gene from all five subspecies to understand whether this gene has diversified within the species, and if so what effect the variations might have on the protein. In addition, our sequences allow us to test whether these genes are evolving through drift, selection, or a combination of the two.
