Individual Variability in the Venom Proteome of Juvenile <i>Bothrops jararaca</i> Specimens

Snake venom proteomes/peptidomes are highly complex and subject to ontogenetic changes. Individual variation in the venom proteome of juvenile snakes is poorly known. We report the proteomic analysis of venoms from 21 juvenile specimens of <i>Bothrops jararaca</i> of different geographical origins and correlate it with the evaluation of important venom features. Individual venoms showed similar caseinolytic activities; however, their amidolytic activities were significantly different. Rather intriguingly, plasma coagulant activity showed remarkable variability among the venoms but not the prothrombin-activating activity. LC–MS analysis showed significant differences between venoms; however, an interesting finding was the ubiquitous presence of the tripeptide ZKW, an endogenous inhibitor of metalloproteinases. Electrophoretic profiles of proteins submitted to reduction showed significant variability in total proteins, glycoproteins, and in the subproteomes of proteinases. Moreover, identification of differential bands revealed variation in most <i>B. jararaca</i> toxin classes. Profiles of venoms analyzed under nonreducing conditions showed less individual variability and identification of proteins in a conserved band revealed the presence of metalloproteinases and l-amino acid oxidase as common components of these venoms. Taken together, our findings suggest that individual venom proteome variability in <i>B. jararaca</i> exists from a very early animal age and is not a result of ontogenetic and diet changes