Open Access

Juan J. Calvete, Bruno Lomonte, Jordi Tena-Garcés, Michael Zollweg, Dietrich Mebs

• Highlights • Proteomic analyses of submandibular gland extracts of two alligator lizards of the Anguidae family are reported. • A conserved set of putative toxins was found in the submandibular gland extracts of Abronia lythrochila and A. graminea. • Toxins evolved in oral secretions of paleo- and neoanguimorpha over more than 100 million years of Anguimorpha cladogenesis. • Electron microscopy of pleurodont teeth of A. lythrochila showed no sign of groove, external opening or striations. • Assessing the role toxins play in the ecology of extant anguimorph lizards deserves functional studies in natural prey. Abstract A useful approach to deepen our knowledge about the origin and evolution of venom systems in Reptilia has been exploring the vast biodiversity of this clade of vertebrates in search of orally produced proteins with toxic actions, as well as their corresponding delivery systems. The occurrence of toxins in anguimorph lizards has been demonstrated experimentally or inferred from reports of the toxic effects of the oral secretions of taxa within the Varanidae and Helodermatidae families. In the present study, we have focused on two alligator lizards of the Anguidae family, the Mexican alligator lizard, Abronia graminea, and the red-lipped arboreal alligator lizard, A. lythrochila. In addition, the fine morphology of teeth of the latter species is described. The presence of a conserved set of proteins, including B-type natriuretic peptides, cysteine-rich secretory proteins, group III phospholipase A2, and kallikrein, in submandibular gland extracts was demonstrated for both Abronia species. These proteins belong to toxin families found in oral gland secretions of venomous reptile species. This finding, along with previous demonstration of toxin-producing taxa in both paleo- and neoanguimorpha clades, provides further support for the existence of a handful of conserved toxin families in oral secretions across the 100+ million years of Anguimorpha cladogenesis.