RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Microbial adaptation to venom is common in snakes and spiders
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 348433
DO 10.1101/348433
A1 E. Esmaeilishirazifard
A1 L. Usher
A1 C. Trim
A1 H. Denise
A1 V. Sangal
A1 G.H. Tyson
A1 A. Barlow
A1 K.F. Redway
A1 J.D. Taylor
A1 M. Kremyda-Vlachou
A1 T. D. Loftus
A1 M.M.G. Lock
A1 K. Wright
A1 A. Dalby
A1 L.A.S. Snyder
A1 W. Wuster
A1 S. Trim
A1 S.A. Moschos
YR 2018
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/06/16/348433.abstract
AB Animal venoms are considered sterile sources of antimicrobial compounds with strong membrane disrupting activity against multi-drug resistant bacteria. However, bite wound infections are common in developing nations. Investigating the oral and venom microbiome of five snake and two spider species, we evidence viable microorganisms potentially unique to venom for black-necked spitting cobras (Naja nigricollis). Among these are two novel sequence types of Enterococcus faecalis misidentified by commonly used clinical biochemistry procedures as Staphylococcus; the genome sequence data of venom-specific isolates feature an additional 45 genes, at least 11 of which improve membrane integrity. Our findings challenge the dogma of venom sterility and indicate an increased primary infection risk in the clinical management of venomous animal bite wounds.One Sentence Summary Independent bacterial colonization of cobra venom drives acquisition of genes antagonistic to venom antimicrobial peptides.