BackgroundColombia and Brazil are affected by severe cases of scorpionism. In Colombia the most dangerous accidents are caused by Tityus pachyurus that is widely distributed around this country. In the Brazilian Amazonian region scorpion stings are a common event caused by Tityus obscurus. The main objective of this work was to perform the molecular cloning of the putative Na+-channel scorpion toxins (NaScTxs) from T. pachyurus and T. obscurus venom glands and to analyze their phylogenetic relationship with other known NaScTxs from Tityus species.Methodology/Principal FindingscDNA libraries from venom glands of these two species were constructed and five nucleotide sequences from T. pachyurus were identified as putative modulators of Na+-channels, and were named Tpa4, Tpa5, Tpa6, Tpa7 and Tpa8; the latter being the first anti-insect excitatory β-class NaScTx in Tityus scorpion venom to be described. Fifteen sequences from T. obscurus were identified as putative NaScTxs, among which three had been previously described, and the others were named To4 to To15. The peptides Tpa4, Tpa5, Tpa6, To6, To7, To9, To10 and To14 are closely related to the α-class NaScTxs, whereas Tpa7, Tpa8, To4, To8, To12 and To15 sequences are more related to the β-class NaScTxs. To5 is possibly an arthropod specific toxin. To11 and To13 share sequence similarities with both α and β NaScTxs. By means of phylogenetic analysis using the Maximum Parsimony method and the known NaScTxs from Tityus species, these toxins were clustered into 14 distinct groups.Conclusions/SignificanceThis communication describes new putative NaScTxs from T. pachyurus and T. obscurus and their phylogenetic analysis. The results indicate clear geographic separation between scorpions of Tityus genus inhabiting the Amazonian and Mountain Andes regions and those distributed over the Southern of the Amazonian rainforest. Based on the consensus sequences for the different clusters, a new nomenclature for the NaScTxs is proposed.

In this work, a methodology of synthesis was designed to obtain ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) in a controlled and reproducible manner. The nanoparticles obtained were characterized using infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Also, we determined the antifungal capacity in vitro of zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized, examining their action on Erythricium salmonicolor fungy causal of pink disease. To determine the effect of the quantity of zinc precursor used during ZnO NPs synthesis on the antifungal capacity, 0.1 and 0.15 M concentrations of zinc acetate were examined. To study the inactivation of the mycelial growth of the fungus, different concentrations of ZnO NPs of the two types of synthesized samples were used. The inhibitory effect on the growth of the fungus was determined by measuring the growth area as a function of time. The morphological change was observed with high-resolution optical microscopy (HROM), while TEM was used to observe changes in its ultrastructure. The results showed that a concentration of 9 mmol L -1 for the sample obtained from the 0.15 M and at 12 mmol L -1 for the 0.1 M system significantly inhibited growth of E. salmonicolor. In the HROM images a deformation was observed in the growth pattern: notable thinning of the fibers of the hyphae and a clumping tendency. The TEM images showed a liquefaction of the cytoplasmic content, making it less electron-dense, with the presence of a number of vacuoles and significant detachment of the cell wall.

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The scorpion Tityus serrulatus is responsible for the most severe accidents that have been registered in Brazil, mainly in the state of Minas Gerais (MG), being the lung edema (LE), the main cause of death in these accidents. Although an increased in the number of accidents caused to this species in Federal District (Distrito Federal - DF), it seems that this particular species is not responsible for severe scorpionism cases in this region. Given this observation, we tested the toxicity in mice and compared the ability of T. serrulatus venom from DF (Ts-DF) and Minas Gerais State (Ts-MG) to induce LE in rats. The LD50 of Ts-DF venom was 51.6 μg/mouse, almost twice (1.98) higher than that obtained for Ts-MG venom. The ability of venom (0.5 mg/kg) to induce LE in rats was determined by the wet weight differences between treated and untreated lungs, by pulmonary morphological analyses and by pulmonary vascular permeability (PVP) using the Evans blue protocol. Significant differences in the wet weight of lungs and changes in PVP were found in Ts-MG venom treated rats when compared to rats treated with Ts-DF venom or untreated rats (p < 0.001), but no differences occurred when comparing rats treated with Ts-DF venom and untreated rats (p < 0.05). These results were confirmed by evaluation of pulmonary morphology. Comparison of chromatographic profiles obtained from these venoms (Ts-DF and Ts-MG) using the fractal dimension (D) analysis and the molecular mass fingerprint of the chromatographic fractions showed a higher number of components between 35 and 40% acetonitrile in Ts-MG venom than in Ts-DF venom, indicating a higher diversity of sodium channel modulators in that venom.

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