BACKGROUND Except for the northern region, where the Amazonian black scorpion, T. obscurus, represents the predominant and most medically relevant scorpion species, Tityus serrulatus, the Brazilian yellow scorpion, is widely distributed throughout Brazil, causing most envenoming and fatalities due to scorpion sting. In order to evaluate and compare the diversity of venom components of Tityus ob...

Seven toxic peptides from the venom of Tityus bahiensis and Tityus stigmurus was isolated and sequenced, five of them to completion. The most abundant peptide from each of these two species of scorpion was 95% identical with that of toxin gamma from the venom of Tityus serrulatus. They were consequently named gamma-b and gamma-st respectively. The genes encoding these new gamma-like peptides we...

Tityus serrulatus sting causes thousands of deaths annually worldwide. T. serrulatus-envenomed victims exhibit local or systemic reaction that culminates in pulmonary oedema, potentially leading to death. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying T. serrulatus venom (TsV) activity remain unknown. Here we show that TsV triggers NLRP3 inflammasome activation via K(+) efflux. Mechanistically, T...

Within the order Scorpiones, the parthenogenetic mode of reproduction has been described for 11 species, 6 of which belong to the genus Tityus. In this work, an investigation of the chromosome characteristics of 2 populations of Tityus serrulatus, the first scorpion species known to be thelytokously parthenogenetic, is described. An analysis of 40 individuals revealed holocentric chromosomes of...

The present study was undertaken to investigate the diuretic activity and acute toxicity profile of the crude aqueous extract and solvent fraction of the leaves of Thymus serrulatus in saline-loaded Swiss albino mice. Mice of either sex were divided into six groups (five animals in each group). The control group received normal saline (25 mL/kg), while the reference group received hydrochloroth...

The male of Tityus kuryi Lourenço, 1997 is described for the first time. Despite being very similar to the female, the male presents more robust metasomal segments. Additionally, the distribution of the sexual populations of another two species of the T. stigmurus complex is reported herein: T. serrulatus Lutz & Mello, 1922 and T. stigmurus (Thorell, 1877). Males of T. serrulatus were, until no...

The taxonomic identity and the geographical relationships of the Macaronesian endemic moss Fissidens luisieri have been studied using the chloroplast trnGUCC intron, the spacer between trnM and trnV, together with the trnV intron and ITS1 and ITS2 sequences. A comparison of F. luisieri with the most closely related species, F. serrulatus, from the same geographical areas reveals that the distri...

The gating component associated with the voltage-sensitive Na+ channel from electroplax membranes of Electrophorus electricus has been purified by using toxin gamma from the venom of the scorpion Tityus serrulatus serrulatus. The toxin-binding site was efficiently solubilized with Lubrol PX, resulting in an extract of high initial specific activity. Purification was achieved by adsorption of th...

Four new species of the empoascine leafhopper genus Alebroides Matsumura are reported from China: A. strumae Yu & Yang, sp. nov., A. chiasmaticus Yu & Yang, sp. nov., A. serrulatus Yu & Yang, sp. nov. and A. spanner Yu & Yang, sp. nov. A list of all Chinese species of the genus is provided.