Orientador: Lucilene Delazari Santos / Resumo: O veneno de serpente tem sido utilizado para diversas finalidades terapêuticas; portanto, desde o início do século XX, a criação de serpentes em cativeiro tornou-se uma atividade cada vez mais relevante. Os principais motivos da existência e permanência destes cativeiros se atribuem à produção dos soros antiofídicos, e o uso de seus venenos e seus componentes isolados com potenciais aplicações à saúde animal e humana. Porém, a vida em cativeiro pode resultar na síndrome da má adaptação, a qual o animal sob estresse desenvolve inapetência e, consequentemente há o acometimento da imunidade, podendo desenvolver infecções por micro-organismos como fungos, bactérias e vírus. Desta forma, o controle e prevenção de infecções em serpentes mantidas em cativeiro tornaram-se assuntos muito importantes. Dentre as doenças infecciosas virais, têm-se a infecção pelo Paramixovírus ofídico, atualmente, denominado Ferlavirus reptiliano. Este vírus é altamente devastador em serpentes, pois atua no sistema nervoso central e respiratório, podendo levar à morte e/ou morbidade na fase aguda da doença, sendo que na fase crônica, o animal pode atuar como reservatório do vírus, e disseminar a doença no plantel. Atualmente, não há tratamento específico nem vacinas disponíveis para esta virose. Porém, testes sorológicos estão emergindo para a detecção de anticorpos. Dentre estes testes, encontram-se o ensaio de Inibição de Hemaglutinação (HI) e o ensaio de ELISA de Bloqueio de Fase Líquida (BFL-ELISA), ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Snake venom has been used for several therapeutic purposes. Therefore, breeding snakes in captivity has become an increasingly relevant activity since early20th century. The main reasons for the existence and permanence of these captivities are the production of snake antivenom and the use of venom and its isolate compounds with potential applications in human and animal health. However, living in captivity may result in the maladaptation syndrome, in which the animal under stress develops inappetence and, consequently, a decrease in immunity, becoming more likely to develop infections caused by microorganisms as fungi, bacteria and viruses. Thus, the control and prevention of infections in snakes kept in captivity became very important subjects. The infection by the ophidian paramyxovirus named reptilian ferlavirus is among the viral infectious diseases. This virus is highly devastating in snakes because its action in central and respiratory nervous system and may lead to death and/or morbidity in the acute stage of the disease, consideringthat the animal may act as a reservoir of the virus in the chronic stage and spread the disease in the breeding stock. Nowadays, there isn’t a specific treatment or vaccines available for strike this viral infection, however, serological tests are emerging for antibodies detection. Hemagglutination Inhibition (HI) and Liquid Phase Blocking ELISA (LPB-ELISA) are among these tests, which differs from each other in sensitivity and analytical ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

The eyes of snakes and most geckos, as well as a number of other disparate squamate taxa, are shielded beneath a layer of transparent integument referred to as the “reptilian spectacle.” Derived from the embryonic fusion of palpebral tissues, the spectacle contains a number of specializations of the skin to benefit vision while still allowing it to function as the primary barrier to the environment. For example, in nearly all species that possess it, it is markedly thinned compared to the surrounding integument and its keratinized scale is optically transparent. While the spectacle may thus seem ideally adapted to vision in allowing the eyes to be always unoccluded, it does have a few drawbacks. One such drawback is its vascularity, the implications of which are still not fully understood, but are explored herein. As no recent synthesis exists of the body of knowledge on reptilian spectacles, the first chapter of this thesis consists of a review of spectacle anatomy, physiology, adaptive significance and evolution to help put into context the following chapters that present original research. The second chapter describes the dynamics of blood flow through the spectacle vasculature of colubrid snakes, demonstrating three main points: (1) that the spectacle vasculature exhibits cycles of regular dilation and constriction, (2) that the visual perception of a threat induces vasoconstriction of its vessels, and (3) that spectacle vessels remain dilated throughout the renewal phase. The implications of these points are discussed. The third chapter describes the spectral transmittance of the shed spectacle scale, the only keratinized structure in the animal kingdom to contribute to the dioptric apparatus of the eye, as well as its thickness. Spectacle scale transmittance and thickness was found to differ dramatically between snakes and geckos and found in snakes to vary between families. The adaptive significance of the observed variation is discussed. The fourth chapter describes biochemical analyses of the shed spectacle scales of snakes and geckos and compares their composition to other scales in the integument. Spectacle scales were found to differ significantly from other scales in their keratin composition, and gecko spectacle scales in particular were found to lack ß keratin, that hard corneous protein thought to be common to all reptile scales. The concluding chapter will discuss where this research has brought the state of our knowledge on the spectacle and offers thoughts on potentially useful avenues for further research.

The eyes of snakes and most geckos, as well as a number of other disparate squamate taxa, are shielded beneath a layer of transparent integument referred to as the “reptilian spectacle.” Derived from the embryonic fusion of palpebral tissues, the spectacle contains a number of specializations of the skin to benefit vision while still allowing it to function as the primary barrier to the environment. For example, in nearly all species that possess it, it is markedly thinned compared to the surrounding integument and its keratinized scale is optically transparent. While the spectacle may thus seem ideally adapted to vision in allowing the eyes to be always unoccluded, it does have a few drawbacks. One such drawback is its vascularity, the implications of which are still not fully understood, but are explored herein. As no recent synthesis exists of the body of knowledge on reptilian spectacles, the first chapter of this thesis consists of a review of spectacle anatomy, physiology, adaptive significance and evolution to help put into context the following chapters that present original research. The second chapter describes the dynamics of blood flow through the spectacle vasculature of colubrid snakes, demonstrating three main points: (1) that the spectacle vasculature exhibits cycles of regular dilation and constriction, (2) that the visual perception of a threat induces vasoconstriction of its vessels, and (3) that spectacle vessels remain dilated throughout the renewal phase. The implications of these points are discussed. The third chapter describes the spectral transmittance of the shed spectacle scale, the only keratinized structure in the animal kingdom to contribute to the dioptric apparatus of the eye, as well as its thickness. Spectacle scale transmittance and thickness was found to differ dramatically between snakes and geckos and found in snakes to vary between families. The adaptive significance of the observed variation is discussed. The fourth chapter describes biochemical analyses of the shed spectacle scales of snakes and geckos and compares their composition to other scales in the integument. Spectacle scales were found to differ significantly from other scales in their keratin composition, and gecko spectacle scales in particular were found to lack ß keratin, that hard corneous protein thought to be common to all reptile scales. The concluding chapter will discuss where this research has brought the state of our knowledge on the spectacle and offers thoughts on potentially useful avenues for further research.