Animal venom toxins

I.S. Blagbrough and E. Moya, Animal Venoms and Insect Toxins as Lead Compounds for Agrochemicals , in Crop Protection Agents from Nature natural products and analogues , ed. L.G. Copping, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK, 1996, pp. 339-359. 

Some species from practically all phyla of animals produce toxins for either offensive or defensive purposes. Some are passively venomous, often following inadvertent ingestion, whereas others are actively venomous, injecting poisons through specially... 

Environmental toxicology is defined as the study of the fate and effects of chemicals in the environment. Although this definition would encompass toxic chemicals naturally found in the environment (i.e., animal venom, microbial and plant toxins), environmental toxicology is typically associated with the study of environmental chemicals of anthropogenic origin. Environmental toxicology can be divided into two subcategories ... 

According to Cavalier-Smith [57], secondary metabolites are most useful to the organisms producing them as competitive weapons and the selective forces for their production have existed even before the first cell. The antibiotics are more important than macromolecular toxins such as colicins and animal venoms because of their diffusibility into cells and broader modes of action. 

Animal venoms often contain a number of toxic and nontoxic proteins. Until recently, it would have been practically impossible to collect enough of these materials to develop them as biological weapons. However, many of the venom toxins have now been sequenced (ie, their molecular structure has been determined), and some have been cloned and expressed (ie, produced by molecular biological techniques). Some of the smaller ones could also be produced by relatively simple chemical synthesis methods. The following are examples of the mechanisms of action and sources of venom toxins ... 

Malerbo-Souza, D.T. Nogueira-Couto, R.H. Couto L.A (2003). Poliniza< ao em cultura de laranja Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck, var. Pera-iio). Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Research and Animal Science, Vol. 40, No. 4, p. 237-242, ISSN 1413-9596 Malerbo-Souza, D.T. Nogueira-Couto, RH. Couto, L. A. (2004). Honey bee attractants and pollination in sweet Orange, Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck, var. Pera-Rio. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases, Vol.lO, No.2, p. 144-153, ISSN 1678-9199... 

In nature, the art of chemical warfare may have reached its zenith with the innovation of venomous animals, those that not only contain poisonous toxins but also have the anatomical apparatus to inject those toxins directly into other animals. Venoms come in four different types cytotoxic, causing cell death proteolytic, dismantling the molecular structure around the area of the injection hemotoxic, causing failure within the cardiovascular system or neurotoxic, acting on the nervous system and the brain. 

Pure toxins are typically colorless, white, tan, or yellow solids. Venoms—crude mixtures of toxins and other natural chemicals produced by animals such as snakes, spiders, and scorpions—are colorless to yellow or brown liquids. 

Habermehl, G. (1981) Venomous Animals and Their Toxins (Springer, New York). 

Stephanie Mouhat is an engineer and has a Ph.D. in biology. She is affiliated to the ERT 62 laboratory and holds a position as a researcher in a biopharmaceutical company. She works in the field of therapeutic peptides derived from venomous animal toxins, and has contributed to more than 10 scientific articles, above 20 communications, and 2 patents in the field. She won the prize for the best Ph.D. thesis at the Universite de la Mediterranee in 2006. 

Jean-Marc Sabatier has a Ph.D. and HDR in biochemistry. He is the director of research at the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). He heads a research laboratory (ERT 62) entided Engineering of Therapeutic Peptides at the Universite de la Mediterranee, in Marseilles, France. He also holds the position of a senior director (discovery research — peptides) for a public company in Canada. Dr. Sabatier works in the field of animal toxins, and leads the venom peptide group of the International Neuropeptide Society. He also designs immunomodulatory and antiviral drugs, as well as contributes to the field of peptide and protein engineering. He has contributed more than 100 scientific articles, 180 communications, and 43 patents. He is a member of several scientific advisory boards of journals (e.g.. Peptides, Biochemical Journal), and has reviewed articles submitted for publication in more than 30 specialized international journals. 

---