The Harderian gland transcriptomes of Caraiba andreae, Cubophis cantherigerus and Tretanorhinus variabilis, three colubroid snakes from Cuba

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2019

Authors

Dominguez Perez, D (Author) Other; Durban, J (Author) Other; Aguero Chapin, G (Author) Other; Torres Lopez, JT (Author) Other; Molina Ruiz, R (Author) Other; Almeida, D (Author) Other; Calvete, JJ (Author) Other; Vitor Vasconcelos (Author) FCUP; Agostinho Antunes (Author) FCUP

Journal

Title: Genomics

Vol. 111

Pages: 1720-1727

ISSN: 0888-7543

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 6 Citations

Scopus - 6 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00R-3GN

DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2018.11.026

Abstract (EN): The Harderian gland is a cephalic structure, widely distributed among vertebrates. In snakes, the Harderian gland is anatomically connected to the vomeronasal organ via the nasolacrimal duct, and in some species can be larger than the eyes. The function of the Harderian gland remains elusive, but it has been proposed to play a role in the production of saliva, pheromones, thermoregulatory lipids and growth factors, among others. Here, we have profiled the transcriptomes of the Harderian glands of three non-front-fanged colubroid snakes from Cuba: Caraiba andreae (Cuban Lesser Racer); Cubophis cantherigerus (Cuban Racer); and Tretanorhinus variabilis (Caribbean Water Snake), using Illumina HiSeq2000 100 bp paired-end. In addition to ribosomal and non-characterized proteins, the most abundant transcripts encode putative transport/binding, lipocalin/lipocalin-like, and bactericidal/permeability-increasing-like proteins. Transcripts coding for putative canonical toxins described in venomous snakes were also identified. This transcriptional profile suggests a more complex function than previously recognized for this enigmatic organ.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 8