The diversity of terrestrial and marine venomous creatures is extremely high with more than 200,000 species spread throughout the Animal Kingdom, including vertebrate animals (reptiles and fishes) and invertebrate animals (marine cone snails, octopi, leeches, myriapods, insects and arachnids). Venomous animals have a specialized tissue or organ called the “venom gland” in which their venoms are produced/stored and introduced into the prey by a specialized delivery apparatus such as a fang, stinger, teeth or harpoon. Animal venoms are very complicated and often deadly cocktails, which contain unique mixtures of toxins (mainly peptides and proteins) targeting vital systems of the victim or prey. For their high degree of specificity and potency, venom peptides have been used as good templates to develop various venom-derived drugs such as Captopril, Ziconotide and Exenatide for treating hypertension, chronic pain, and type-2 diabetes, respectively. Also, the scorpion venom peptide chlorotoxin (Cltx) has been shown to be a useful tumor imaging agent and radiolabelled Cltx has undergone clinical trials for targeted glioma radiotherapy.
Generally, the application of cutting-edge “omic” technologies (venomics including proteomics, transcriptomics and high-throughput functional assays) in venom research is extremely advantageous for several reasons: (1) gaining better understanding of venom composition and evolution, (2) revealing molecular mechanisms involved in venom toxicity and developing effective antivenoms, (3) understanding biological processes taking place in venom glands and (4) discovery of novel diagnostic and pharmacological agents that can be used in research and medicine.
Accordingly, this Research Topic is mainly focusing on the new structural and functional findings (with biological and pharmacological significance) obtained from the venom of both terrestrial and marine venomous animals by the aid of venomics technology. Articles that discuss results from either marine or terrestrial poisonous animals are not accepted to be considered in this collection.
We are interested to receive submissions of both systematic reviews and original research articles (notes or short communications are not accepted in this topic) including, but not limited to, the following areas:
- New venomics studies of marine and terrestrial animals using proteomics, transcriptomic and proteomics analysis
- Structural & functional characterization of novel pharmacologically active venom peptides
- Development of venom peptides into therapeutic agents (from toxins to drugs) and diagnostic tools
- Development of effective antivenoms using antivenomics applications
- In vitro and in vivo functional studies (supported with in silico investigations) of venoms and toxins derived terrestrial and marine venomous animals
The diversity of terrestrial and marine venomous creatures is extremely high with more than 200,000 species spread throughout the Animal Kingdom, including vertebrate animals (reptiles and fishes) and invertebrate animals (marine cone snails, octopi, leeches, myriapods, insects and arachnids). Venomous animals have a specialized tissue or organ called the “venom gland” in which their venoms are produced/stored and introduced into the prey by a specialized delivery apparatus such as a fang, stinger, teeth or harpoon. Animal venoms are very complicated and often deadly cocktails, which contain unique mixtures of toxins (mainly peptides and proteins) targeting vital systems of the victim or prey. For their high degree of specificity and potency, venom peptides have been used as good templates to develop various venom-derived drugs such as Captopril, Ziconotide and Exenatide for treating hypertension, chronic pain, and type-2 diabetes, respectively. Also, the scorpion venom peptide chlorotoxin (Cltx) has been shown to be a useful tumor imaging agent and radiolabelled Cltx has undergone clinical trials for targeted glioma radiotherapy.
Generally, the application of cutting-edge “omic” technologies (venomics including proteomics, transcriptomics and high-throughput functional assays) in venom research is extremely advantageous for several reasons: (1) gaining better understanding of venom composition and evolution, (2) revealing molecular mechanisms involved in venom toxicity and developing effective antivenoms, (3) understanding biological processes taking place in venom glands and (4) discovery of novel diagnostic and pharmacological agents that can be used in research and medicine.
Accordingly, this Research Topic is mainly focusing on the new structural and functional findings (with biological and pharmacological significance) obtained from the venom of both terrestrial and marine venomous animals by the aid of venomics technology. Articles that discuss results from either marine or terrestrial poisonous animals are not accepted to be considered in this collection.
We are interested to receive submissions of both systematic reviews and original research articles (notes or short communications are not accepted in this topic) including, but not limited to, the following areas:
- New venomics studies of marine and terrestrial animals using proteomics, transcriptomic and proteomics analysis
- Structural & functional characterization of novel pharmacologically active venom peptides
- Development of venom peptides into therapeutic agents (from toxins to drugs) and diagnostic tools
- Development of effective antivenoms using antivenomics applications
- In vitro and in vivo functional studies (supported with in silico investigations) of venoms and toxins derived terrestrial and marine venomous animals