Studies on sea-snake venoms. Crystallization of erabutoxins a and b from Laticauda semifasciata venom

Abstract

1. The toxic principles in the venom of the sea-snake Laticauda semifasciata were separated into two components by CM-cellulose chromatography and obtained in crystalline forms. They were named ;erabutoxins a and b'. 2. The homogeneity of each toxin was shown by rechromatography, by disk electrophoresis, by ultracentrifuging, by toxicity measurements before and after repeated crystallizations and by N-terminal analysis. 3. They had molecular weights of about 7000. Both of them contained 61 (or 62) amino acid residues/molecule. The only difference between erabutoxins a and b was that one of the aspartic acid (or asparagine) residues in erabutoxin a was replaced by a histidine residue in erabutoxin b. 4. Both of the toxins had LD(50) values of 0.15mug./g. body wt. for mice and 0.07mug./g. for rats. It was shown with frog-muscle preparations that they acted on postsynaptic membrane to block neuromuscular transmission.