For years scientists have used the venom from many creatures to create medicines and treatments for various illnesses. To do this, scientists would extract venom from adult animals and then analyze the make up of the venom and use it in various ways. This process has always been done using adult animals, because the thinking was that an animals venom was the same at a larval stage as it would be at the adult stage. But a recent study with sea anemones has proved that theory wrong. Using a species of sea anemone, Nemotostella, also known as the Starlet Sea Anemone, researchers studied the venom development from larva to adult hood and how the venom chemically changes over the span of their developmental stages. Sea anemones being part of the Phylum Cnidaria have stinging cells on their tentacles that inject the venom into their prey called cnidocytes. To study the venom from these animals, researchers cultured these cells in various life stages and looked into the behavior of Nemotostella at each developmental stage.
Researchers began by studying the venom produced by larva Nemotostella. By analyzing the venom and watching the behavior of the larva, they observed that the venom produced at this stage seemed to be used for defense rather offense. As the small larva are floating through the water they are highly vulnerable to predators. The venom they produce helps them fend off predators so that they can grow to an adult. When a predator eats a larva, the larva release highly potent venom which makes the predator spit them out. This helps ensure that the larva can grow to adulthood and eventually reproduce.
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| Image of Nematosella |
As Nemotostella reaches adulthood its venom changes from that of a defense mechanism, to something to help them catch their prey. The venom chemically changes to better stun and kill potential prey, rather than surprise and disgust a potential predator. While researchers were surprised to find these changes, the changes did not stop with just development, the environment had an impact on the chemistry of the venom as well. As the water salinity, temperature, and food supply changed so did the potency and make up of the venom. This was a completely new aspect of the evolution of the sea anemone that researchers were excited to discover.
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| Expression of Nematosella toxins |
The reason that this discovery is such a big breakthrough is due to the potential medical advancements that would be gained from studying the evolution of the Nematosella venom. Because most, if not all, research done on animal venom is venom taken from adult animals, the concept that there is a whole new variety of compounds from venom to look at has researchers thrilled. The possible new drugs, medicines and treatments that could come from studying these new compounds are unlimited.
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| Cluster of Starlet Sea Anemones |
Another question being asked in the scientific community after this discovery is how "normal" of behavior is it for animals to change their chemical composition as their environment changes? With climate change becoming a major issue around the world, not just for aquatic ecosystems but for terrestrial ecosystems as well, if scientists can study this further then perhaps they can understand ways to help other organisms change and adapt to an environment that otherwise would be lethal for them. This research could help millions of organisms have a brighter future in a harsher world.
Resources:
Image 3 : http://www.sars.no/research/SteinmetzGrp.php
Image 2: https://elifesciences.org/articles/35014
Image 2: https://elifesciences.org/articles/35014
Image 1:
ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 18, 2018 from
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180305101633.htm
Yaara Y Columbus-Shenkar, Maria Y Sachkova, Jason Macrander, Arie Fridrich, Vengamanaidu Modepalli, Adam M Reitzel, Kartik Sunagar, Yehu Moran. Dynamics of venom composition across a complex life cycle. eLife, 2018; 7
Yaara Y Columbus-Shenkar, Maria Y Sachkova, Jason Macrander, Arie Fridrich, Vengamanaidu Modepalli, Adam M Reitzel, Kartik Sunagar, Yehu Moran. Dynamics of venom composition across a complex life cycle. eLife, 2018; 7
Skylar,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting post. Being in the field of toxicology, I find it very interesting how scientists are starting to explore more medicines/pharmaceuticals using animal toxins or venom. My question to you is, do you know what the curative properties of using this venom? What is it supposed to do in the body?
Sorry for the late reply! As far as the journal article said there are not any specific uses that they are looking at yet, but rather how the chemicals could react with the human body and after they understand those interactions then the researchers would look into possible pharmaceuticals for certain conditions.
DeleteThis is such a cool post! The fact that the venom changes chemically and is used differently in different life stages is fascinating. I think it is great that things like this have been studied and we are finding medicinal purposes for them. I found a study that examines the venom of the Paraguayan toad Rhinella. The study found that its venom modified the cell cycle proliferation of breast cancer cells in humans. It's exciting to think about the possibilities of things we could discover.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874116319973
I think it's interesting that so many different factors impact the chemical composition of the venom and it makes me wonder how the chemistry of the venom may change when applied medically. I wonder if there's sort of a "base structure" consistent throughout the different forms of the venom. If so, then maybe there's a way to manipulate it to target specific cells in a way similar to what is currently being studied with viruses.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how important this concept of venom changing as an organism gets older is when applied to interactions with humans. For example, are some organisms venomous to humans only when they are younger, or only when they are older? This would be an interesting topic to explore.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see the potential implications this could have for human health. You stated in your post that most of the research done has been on adult organisms, so I think it would be interesting to see how the venom could potentially change throughout the life cycle of not only marine organisms, but terrestrial organisms as well. I also wonder about the toxic properties to human health of these new venoms being discovered and how new medication could be developed in terms of pharmaceuticals or even antivenoms.
ReplyDeleteI love this post personally because of my interest in aquatic toxicology. While I new that certain animals' venom could be used for pharmaceutical purposes, I had no idea that this venom changed throughout some animals' lives. This opens up a whole new field of study and research into how these new toxins can be used in medicines, how derivatives of these toxins can be used, if these beneficial toxins could disappear due to climate change, and if other animals change their venom composition and how these derivatives could be used.
ReplyDelete