The knowledge of variations in the composition of venoms from different snakes is important from both theoretical and practical points of view, in particular, at developing and selecting an antivenom. Many studies on this topic are conducted with pooled venoms, while the existence and significance of variations in the composition of venoms between individual snakes of the same species are emphasized by many authors. It is important to study both inter- and intra-specific, including intra-population, venom variations, because intra-specific variations in the venom composition may affect the effectiveness of antivenoms as strongly as inter-specific. In this work, based on venom Raman spectroscopy with principal component analysis, we assessed the variations in venoms of individual snakes of the species from two populations and compared these intra-specific variations with inter-specific variations (with regard to the other related species). We demonstrated intra-specific (inter- and intra-population) differences in venom compositions which are smaller than inter-specific variations. We also assessed the compositions of venoms from two populations to explain inter-population differences. The method used is rapid and requires virtually no preparation of samples, used in extremely small quantities, allowing the venoms of individual snakes to be analyzed. In addition, the method is informative and capable of detecting fairly subtle differences in the composition of venoms.

中文翻译：

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基于拉曼光谱分析蛇类毒液的种内变异

从理论和实践的角度来看，了解不同蛇毒液成分的差异非常重要，特别是在开发和选择抗蛇毒血清方面。关于这一主题的许多研究都是使用混合毒液进行的，而许多作者强调了同一物种的个体蛇之间毒液成分差异的存在和重要性。研究种间和种内（包括种群内毒液变异）非常重要，因为毒液成分的种内变异可能与种间一样强烈地影响抗蛇毒血清的有效性。在这项工作中，基于毒液拉曼光谱和主成分分析，我们评估了两个种群中该物种个体蛇毒液的变化，并将这些种内变化与种间变化（相对于其他相关物种）进行比较。我们证明了毒液成分的种内（种群间和种群内）差异小于种间差异。我们还评估了两个种群的毒液成分，以解释种群间的差异。该方法速度快，几乎不需要准备样品，样品用量极少，可以分析单条蛇的毒液。此外，该方法信息丰富，能够检测毒液成分中相当微妙的差异。