Purification and structural characterisation of phospholipase A1 (Vespapase, Ves a 1) from Thai banded tiger wasp (Vespa affinis) venom

► Two isoforms of PLA1, which were designated “Ves a 1”, were isolated from Vespa affinis and characterised. ► The thermostability and activity of Ves a 1 were proposed to involve a rare proline insertion. ► The in vivo toxicity of the isoforms was determined and appears not to be correlated with their PLA1 activity. ► The 1005-bp ORF, which encodes 334 amino acids, was classified to form part of the pancreatic lipase family. ► The β9 loop and the lid domain were found to be shortened, suggesting that these enzymes display only PLA1 activity.