Path followed:
1. Are there any external resources that can be used by the damaged component?
Answer: No
2. Is there any foreign material present?
Answer: Yes
3. Is the foreign material removable?
Answer: No
4. Can the foreign material be destroyed?
Answer: Yes
15) North American Opossum, Didelphia virginiana
The North American Opossum can be found all over the United States, primarily in the southern states, and Mexico. This is the only marsupial in the United States and has babies as tiny as honeybees which ride in their mothersÕ pouch (ÒOpossumÓ, 2015). The Opossum has been found to be immune to the venom of snakes.
One key reason Opossums are immune to venoms of various different snakes is the Lethal Toxin Neutralizing Factor (LTNF) protein (Lipps, B.V. 1999). This protein is a naturally occurring protein in the Opossums body. Once the snake has bitten the Opossum this protein is activated to proliferate. The protein will attach to the venom because it has a high binding affinity to the
venom (Lipps, B.V. & Lipps, F.W. 1998). LTNF will then neutralize the venom by a means that is not completely understood; it ultimately turns the venom into a compound that can be digested and is not harmful.
“Opossum.” National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 2015. Web. Retrieved February 20, 2015, from http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/opossum/.
LIPPS, B. V.. (1999). ANTI-LETHAL FACTOR FROM OPOSSUM SERUM IS A POTENT ANTIDOTE FOR ANIMAL, PLANT AND BACTERIAL TOXINS. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins, 5(1), 56-66. Retrieved February
20, 2015, from http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-79301999000100005&lng=en&tlng=en. 10.1590/S0104-79301999000100005.
Lipps, B.V. & Lipps, F.W. (April 28, 1998). Lethal toxin neutralizing factors. Google Patents. Retrieved February 20, 2015, from http://www.google.com/patents/US5744449.
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