Navigation Links
Venom doc tracks down snake bioweapons

Bryan Grieg Fry, Ph.D., a scientist from the University of Melbourne, Australia, has conducted the first comprehensive analysis of the origin and evolution of one of nature's most sophisticated bioweapons: snake venom. His results are reported in the March issue of the journal Genome Research.

Venomous snakes, all of which belong to the superfamily Colubroidea, evolved glands for the storage and dispersal of their saliva approximately 60-80 million years ago. Since that time, various prey-immobilizing toxins have evolved from innocuous proteins that were normally produced in other body tissues.

Scientists believe that snakes, rather than simply tweaking proteins already expressed in their saliva, recruited and altered proteins for their chemical arsenal from other body tissues. This enabled snakes to develop more specific, highly potent toxins, ones that would cause their victims' bodies to turn against themselves upon injection. Over time, these newly derived toxins became a normal part of the saliva protein repertoire. To date, 24 different snake venom toxins have been characterized by scientists, but the evolutionary history ?or tissue origin ?of these proteins has not been documented.

In his March 2005 Genome Research article, Fry, the Deputy Director of the Australian Venom Research Unit, identified the origin of the 24 known snake toxin types. Surprisingly, rather than being saliva-modified proteins, 21 of the toxins were shown to have been originally derived from proteins normally expressed in other body tissues, including brain, eye, lung, heart, liver, muscle, mammary gland, ovary, and testis.

Only two of the toxins were derived from proteins presumably expressed in ancient reptile saliva. Both of these toxin types, CRISP and kallikrein, are closely related to toxins called helothermine and gilatoxin, which are produced by the Beaded Lizard and the Gila Monster, respectively.

One of the toxins in this study (called the
'"/>

Source:Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory


Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. Spider Venom Could Yield Eco-Friendly Insecticides
2. Protein offers way to stop microscopic parasites in their tracks
3. Stopping smallpox in its tracks: A new anti-viral approach
4. MERIS monitoring tracks planetary photosynthesis levels
5. U. of Colorado researcher identifies tracks of swimming dinosaur in Wyoming
6. Magnetic probe successfully tracks implanted cells in cancer patients
7. Research tracks whales by listening to sounds
8. New tool tracks brain development in babies
9. Precision biochemistry tracks DNA damage in fish
10. Ghost protein leaves fresh tracks in the cell
11. New study aims to stop sepsis in its tracks
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Venom doc tracks down snake bioweapons

(Date:6/18/2013)... Adelaide shows that weight gain and increased head size in ... higher IQ at early school age. , The study was led ... more than 13,800 children who were born full-term. , The results, ... babies who put on 40% of their birthweight in the first ... they were six years of age, compared with babies who only ...
(Date:6/17/2013)... other locations with central nervous system infections may well ... virus, according to a study to be published in ... American Society for Microbiology. Researchers have detected the virus ... with central nervous system infections of unknown cause, and ... from pigs and poultry, suggesting animals may serve as ...
(Date:6/17/2013)... June 17, 2013 An international team led ... Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Albert Einstein College of ... new anti-tuberculosis compound that attacks the tuberculosis (TB) bacterium ... effort to help solve one of the major global ... its dangerous drug-resistant strains," said Peter G. Schultz, the ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):IQ link to baby's weight gain in first month 2New virus discovered in patients with central nervous system infections 2New virus discovered in patients with central nervous system infections 3New compound excels at killing persistent and drug-resistant tuberculosis 2New compound excels at killing persistent and drug-resistant tuberculosis 3New compound excels at killing persistent and drug-resistant tuberculosis 4
... CITY -- Climate change spells trouble for many tropical ... and relatively small areas and the damage will ... and competition among species. That is among the ... relevant to the topic. The review was scheduled for ...
... whether long periods of hot weather, such as last year,s ... or July, August or September? Scientists studying the subtle ... events happen makes a big difference. Based on more ... (NSF) Konza Prairie Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site in Kansas--one ...
... assistant professor of biochemistry at Virginia Tech, has ... administered by the Ministry of Science and Technology ... is "a significant contribution to the diagnosis and ... a release distributed my MICIT. Sobrado, an ...
Cached Biology News:Climate change threatens tropical birds 2Climate change threatens tropical birds 3Climate change threatens tropical birds 4Climate change threatens tropical birds 5Time of year important in projections of climate change effects on ecosystems 2Contributions to diagnosis, treatment of tropical diseases recognized 2
(Date:6/18/2013)... 2013) A million electric cars could be on roads ... the help of research by the United States Department of ... , Professor Zhongwei Chen is part of a team led ... materials to replace the expensive platinum catalysts in fuel cells. ... fuel cells in vehicles is the cost of the units. ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... (PRWEB) June 18, 2013 ExakTime, ... in North America, has introduced AccountLinx Plus, a ... payroll records between ExakTime’s software and industry-leading payroll ... software setup and keeps employee databases up-to-date in ... a business’ current payroll software, directly into ExakTime’s ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... June 18, 2013 The human skin is ... as an important human body part. Similar to the liver, ... order to function, repair and grow. Recent reports from the ... supplements, is just as important as other life supporting organs. ... aid in skin cell reproduction, increase the appearance of skin, ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... 2013 RegeneCure announced today ... AMCA Guided Bone Regeneration (GBR) Dental Membrane as a bone ... common problem encountered when patients have a tooth replaced with ... to house the implant. Consequently there is often a need ... natural bone regenerates. The bone substitute material, in turn, needs ...
Breaking Biology Technology:US and Canadian researchers drive towards cheaper fuel cells for electric cars 2ExakTime Introduces AccountLinx Plus 2Natural Acne Remedies Through Diet, Probiotic Action Shares New Insight on What Foods May Help Lead to Clear Skin 2RegeneCure Starts Clinical Study Using Polymeric Bone Stimulating Membrane for Dental Implants 2RegeneCure Starts Clinical Study Using Polymeric Bone Stimulating Membrane for Dental Implants 3
... University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation is initiating ... Foundation's clinical data and to improve the reliability of ... QDX Platform V Integration Services from Quovadx, ... in Englewood, Colorado. , ,The Medical Foundations growth ...
... of single-molecule DNA analysis technology, announced Thursday it has commenced ... tumor, known as oligodendroglioma. OpGen, based in Madison, is working ... of genetics and chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and ... mapping, invented by Schwartz, will enable researchers to determine how ...
... weeks ago, I referred to offshore outsourcing as an ... an issue de lannee (an election year at that ... questions about the economic future of the U.S. Prominent ... the contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination to the ...
Cached Biology Technology:UW Medical Foundation Integrates Medical Records 2OpGen joins UW, Henry Ford Heath in Improving Brain Tumor Treatment 2The Great Offshore Outsourcing Debate 2
The F40 pump maintenance kit is used to service one F40 pump of a BioLogic DuoFlow workstation. It includes 2 piston seals, 4 check valves, seal removal tool, and 2 O-rings....
... Mouse monoclonal [HDAC8-48] to HDAC8 ... by several mechanisms such as DNA ... translational modifications of histones, which include ... epsilon-amino groups of lysine residues present ...
...
Mouse monoclonal antibody raised against a partial recombinant PUM2. NCBI Entrez Gene ID = PUM2...
Biology Products: