Original Black Cobra Tablets in Pakistan

Original Black Cobra Tablets in Pakistan

Snakes are found on every continent in the world except Antarctica, and on smaller land masses. Being ecologically important, they also cause a large number of bites, leading to millions of deaths. Mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences are being used to identify, characterize, and infer genetic biodiversity among different snake species. Furthermore, phylogenetics helps in inferring the relationships and evolutionary histories among these species. Black cobra is one of the four most venomous snakes in Pakistan. Four mitochondrial (ND4, Cytochrome b, 12S rRNA, and 16S rRNA) and four nuclear (C-mos, RAG-1, BDNF, and NT3) genes were used to trace diversity and infer the phylogenetic relationship of black cobra in Pakistan.

Results

Almost similar phylogenies were obtained through maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference, showing two species of cobra in Pakistan, namely, black cobra (Naja naja) and brown cobra (Naja oxiana). All Naja species were divided into three clades: black cobra (N. naja) and brown cobra (N. oxiana) cladding with different species of Naja; N. naja (Pakistan) cladding with N. naja from Nepal; and N. oxiana showed close relationship with Naja kaouthia from Thailand and Naja siamensis from Thailand.

Conclusion

It was confirmed genetically that there are two cobra species in Pakistan, i.e., black and brown cobras. This study will help in not only genetic conservation but also developing anti-venom against snake species.

1. Introduction

Out of the total 300 species of land snakes in Pakistan, only 40 are venomous. Commonly found venomous snakes in Pakistan are cobras, kraits, and vipers [1]. The annual mortality rate estimate following envenomation soars is as high as 20,000 [2,3]. However, there is no reliable statistics regarding snake bite incidents, morbidity, and mortality except virtual statistics based on hospital cases [4,5,6].

Cobra is one of the representative animals of Pakistan and India with a high rate of mortality [7]. All the populations of cobra have now been given the status of a single species naja, but later, ten subspecies of Naja naja were identified. Asiatic cobras of the genus Naja make a complex and widespread group of venomous snakes. They have many years of controversial systematics [8,9,10,11]. There is much less confusion in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent about the systematics of Naja than anywhere else. Original Black Cobra Tablets in Pakistan (N. naja) is found throughout India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh, whereas brown cobra (Naja oxiana) is found in Soviet Central Asia, Northeastern Iran, Afghanistan, Northern Pakistan, and northwestern India. Naja kaouthia is found in Delhi East to Assam and South to Vietnam and Northern Malaysia [12]. There are two types of cobras in Pakistan: one is black cobra (N. naja) and the other one is brown ox cobra (N. oxiana) [13]. The black cobra is found across Southern and Eastern Pakistan regions, while the brown cobra (N. oxiana) is only found in Northern Pakistan [14].

Phylogenetics shows relationships among organisms and genes. It gives a clearer picture of biodiversity, biogeography, and evolution of many characters in related groups [15,16]. Mitochondrial DNA studies for animal evolution have become a powerful tool in the last decade. Molecular biology has helped mitochondrial DNA studies to give an insight into the structure of population, gene flow, hybridization, biogeography, and phylogenetics [17]. Evolutionary studies provide a comparison of mitochondrial genome organization and function, while molecular studies help in the improvement of these evolutionary studies. Similarly, nuclear genes also seem to be a strong source of phylogenetic information. They can be more useful to study the divergence of these genes whose multiple substitutions may cause destruction of the phylogenetic signal.

Pakistan has unique geographical and environmental conditions that bring diversity in local snakes. Black cobra is one of them causing significant snakebite accidents in the urban and rural areas of Pakistan. Almost no morphological and molecular data about black cobra from Pakistan are available for measuring genetic diversity and correct identification of this snake species. The present study is the first attempt from Pakistan focusing on black cobra, which would help in treating snakebites, hence saving millions of lives through effective anti-venom development strategies.