İn vitro investigation of the effects of Protoiurus kraepelini and Aegaeobuthus gibbosus venoms on some biofilm-forming bacteria

In this study, scorpion species Protoiurus kraepelini and Aegaeobuthus gibbosus were collected from the field and fed in the laboratory for venom production. Venoms were taken from the scorpions using the electrostimulation technique and prepared for analysis in fresh and lyophilized form. It was aimed to determine the antimicrobial effect, biofilm formation and protein molecular weights of crude and lyophilized venoms against bacteria. Three Gram (+), four Gram (-) bacteria and two fungal species were used in the study. In the first stage, it was observed that the crude venoms taken from P. krapelini had a high effect on microorganisms at different concentrations. A zone diameter of 17 mm was measured against S. aureus at 1/1 concentration of P. krapelini crude venom. When the effect of lyophilized scorpion venom in both species was examined, it was observed that the lyophilized venom of P. krapelini was more effective than A. gibbosus. The biofilm removal activity of the poisons was examined by the 96-well plate and it was observed that the lyophilized and crude venom samples of P. kraepelini significantly inhibited the biofilm formation. It was observed that A. gibbosus venom samples had a slight effect on biofilm formation. SDS-PAGE method was used to determine the molecular weights of the venom samples. It was observed that the crude venom of P. kraepelini gave protein band profiles between ~8-277 kDa, and the crude venom of A. gibbosus between ~11-282 kDa. On the other hand, it was observed that lyophilized venom samples did not form a visible band profile except for a few dominant bands. According to the results obtained, it has been determined that scorpion venoms can be used as an alternative to the use of antibiotics against microorganisms. In order to prevent biofilm formation, it is planned to separate the effective scorpion venoms into peptide fractions, and at the same time, studies are planned to isolate the effective ones from these peptides and use them in this field.