Manuscript Number : IJSRST229469

Categorizing Molecular Features of Venom Toxins using Bioinformatics tools

Authors(5) :-Vinod P. Sinoorkar, Pratiksha D. Shinde, Mohammed Danish A. Shaikh, Gouri S. Mandrup, Isha A. Puranik

Poisonous organisms are represented in many taxa, including kingdom Animalia. During evolution, animals have developed special organs for production and injection of venoms. Animal venoms are complex mixtures, compositions of which depend on species producing venom. The most known and studied poisonous terrestrial animals are snakes, scorpions and snails. Venomous animals produce a myriad of important pharmacological components. The individual components, or venoms (toxins), are used in ion channel and receptor studies, drug discovery, and formulation of insecticides. Knowing the key clinical applications of venom, the present investigation was carried out to understand the molecular basis of venom toxins of animals like snake (L-amino acid oxidases), cone snail (Contulakin-G) and scorpion (Chlorotoxin) by retrieving the protein sequence information, deducing various physicochemical properties, predicting secondary structural elements, homology modelling and depicting the potent antigenic regions using various bioinformatics tools and soft-wares. Because of their remarkable molecular diversity, venoms are key, albeit challenging, resource for pharmacological discovery that contribute to the development of drugs that act as anti-tumor agents, heart stimulants and therapies for neurological diseases. Venom-informatics is a systematic bioinformatics approach in which classified, consolidated and cleaned venom data are stored into repositories and integrated with advanced bioinformatics tools for the analysis of structure and function of toxins. Venom-informatics complements experimental studies and helps reduce the number of essential experiments.

Authors and Affiliations

Vinod P. Sinoorkar
Walchand Centre for Biotechnology, Solapur, Maharashtra, India
Pratiksha D. Shinde
Walchand Centre for Biotechnology, Solapur, Maharashtra, India
Mohammed Danish A. Shaikh
Walchand Centre for Biotechnology, Solapur, Maharashtra, India
Gouri S. Mandrup
Walchand Centre for Biotechnology, Solapur, Maharashtra, India
Isha A. Puranik
Walchand Centre for Biotechnology, Solapur, Maharashtra, India

Venom, Toxins, Venom-Informatics, Therapeutics, Snake, Cone Snail, Scorpion

  1. Aboutorabi A, Naderi N, Gholamipour Pourbadiee H, Zolfagharian H, Vatanpour H. 2016. Voltage-gated sodium channels modulation by bothutous schach scorpion venom. Iranian journal of pharmaceutical sciences 12(3), 55-64.
  2. Adkins, C.L., D.N. Greenwald, D.B. Means, B. Matturro, and J. Ries.  2011.  Petition to List the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Petition submitted 08/11/11 to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Washington, D.C., and USFWS Region 4, Atlanta, GA.
  3. Al‑Asmari AK, Islam M, Al‑Zahrani AM. 2016. In vitro analysis of the anticancer properties of scorpion venom in colorectal and breast cancer cell lines. Oncology letters 11(2), 1256-1262.
  4. Brazón J, Guerrero B, D'Suze G, Sevcik C, Arocha-Piñango CL. 2014. Fibrin (ogen) olytic enzymes in scorpion (Tityus discrepans) venom. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 168, 62-69.
  5. Carolina Alves Nicolau, Alyson Prorock, Yongde Bao, Ana Gisele da Costa Neves-Ferreira, Richard Hemmi Valente ID and Jay William Fox, Revisiting the Therapeutic Potential of Bothrops jararaca Venom: Screening for Novel Activities Using Connectivity Mapping PMID: 29415440 PMCID: PMC5848170 DOI: 10.3390/toxins10020069
  6. Ciscotto, P.; Machado de Avila, R.A.; Coelho, E.A.; Oliveira, J.; Diniz, C.G.; Farias, L.M.; de Carvalho, M.A.; Maria, W.S.; Sanchez, E.F.; Borges, A.; et al. Antigenic, microbicidal and antiparasitic properties of an L-amino acid oxidase isolated from Bothrops jararaca snake venom. Toxicon 2009, 53, 330–341. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  7. Chippaux JP. 2012. Emerging options for the management of scorpion stings. Drug design, development and therapy 6, 165.
  8. DeBin JA, Maggio JE, Strichartz GR (February 1993). "Purification and characterization of chlorotoxin, a chloride channel ligand from the venom of the scorpion". Am. J. Physiol. 264 (2 Pt 1): C361–9.
  9. Kolaskar A, Tongaonkar PC. A semi-empirical method for prediction of antigenic determinants on protein antigens. FEBS Lett. 1990; 276: 172–174.
  10. Lourenço W. 2001. The scorpion families and their geographical distribution. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins 7(1), 03-23.
  11. Lucie Dardevet, Dipti Rani, Tarek Abd El Aziz, Ingrid Bazin, Jean-Marc Sabatier, Mahmoud Fadl, Elisabeth Brambilla, and Michel De Waard, Chlorotoxin: A Helpful Natural Scorpion Peptide to Diagnose Glioma and Fight Tumor Invasion 2015 Apr; 7(4): 1079–1101.Published online 2015 Mar 27. PMCID: PMC4417956 PMID: 25826056 doi: 10.3390/toxins7041079
  12. Olivera BM, Teichert RW (October 2007). "Diversity of the neurotoxic Conus peptides: a model for concerted pharmacological discovery". Molecular Interventions. 7 (5): 251–60.
  13. Ortiz E, Gurrola GB, Schwartz EF, Possani LD. (2015). Scorpion venom components as potential candidates for drug development. Toxicon 93, 125-135.
  14. Paola G Ojeda , David Ramírez Jans Alzate-Morales, Julio Caballero, Quentin Kaas, Wendy González, Computational Studies of Snake Venom Toxins PMID: 29271884 PMCID: PMC5793095 DOI: 10.3390/toxins10010008
  15. Price, Andrew H. (2009). Venomous Snakes of Texas: A Field Guide. University of Texas Press. pp. 38–39. ISBN 978-0-292-71967-5.
  16. Rao VR, Perez-Neut M, Kaja S, Gentile S. 2015. Voltage-gated ion channels in cancer cell proliferation. Cancers 7(2), 849-875.
  17. Sasha Kapil1; Stephen Hendriksen2; Jeffrey S. Cooper3 Cone Snail Toxicity In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan.
  18. Yoshiba S. [An estimation of the most dangerous species of cone shell, Conus (Gastridium) geographus Linne, 1758, venom's lethal dose in humans]. Nihon Eiseigaku Zasshi. 1984 Jun;39(2):565-72.
  19. Yuri N Utkin(2015).  Animal venom studies: current benefits and future development. World J Biol Chem 6(2):28-33 ISSN1948-8454
  20. Zhang L, Shi W, Zeng XC, Ge F, Yang M, Nie Y, Guoji E. 2015. Unique diversity of the venom peptides from the scorpion Androctonus bicolor revealed by transcriptomic and proteomic analysis. Journal of proteomics 128, 231-250.

Publication Details

Published in : Volume 9 | Issue 4 | July-August 2022
Date of Publication : 2022-08-30
License:  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Page(s) : 443-449
Manuscript Number : IJSRST229469
Publisher : Technoscience Academy

Print ISSN : 2395-6011, Online ISSN : 2395-602X

Cite This Article :

Vinod P. Sinoorkar, Pratiksha D. Shinde, Mohammed Danish A. Shaikh, Gouri S. Mandrup, Isha A. Puranik, " Categorizing Molecular Features of Venom Toxins using Bioinformatics tools", International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology(IJSRST), Print ISSN : 2395-6011, Online ISSN : 2395-602X, Volume 9, Issue 4, pp.443-449, July-August-2022. Available at doi : https://doi.org/10.32628/IJSRST229469    
Journal URL : https://ijsrst.com/IJSRST229469
Citation Detection and Elimination     |      | |PMC5848170 DOI: 10.3390/toxins10020069
  • Ciscotto, P.; Machado de Avila, R.A.; Coelho, E.A.; Oliveira, J.; Diniz, C.G.; Farias, L.M.; de Carvalho, M.A.; Maria, W.S.; Sanchez, E.F.; Borges, A.; et al. Antigenic, microbicidal and antiparasitic properties of an L-amino acid oxidase isolated from Bothrops jararaca snake venom. Toxicon 2009, 53, 330–341. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  • Chippaux JP. 2012. Emerging options for the management of scorpion stings. Drug design, development and therapy 6, 165.
  • DeBin JA, Maggio JE, Strichartz GR (February 1993). "Purification and characterization of chlorotoxin, a chloride channel ligand from the venom of the scorpion". Am. J. Physiol. 264 (2 Pt 1): C361–9.
  • Kolaskar A, Tongaonkar PC. A semi-empirical method for prediction of antigenic determinants on protein antigens. FEBS Lett. 1990; 276: 172–174.
  • Lourenço W. 2001. The scorpion families and their geographical distribution. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins 7(1), 03-23.
  • Lucie Dardevet, Dipti Rani, Tarek Abd El Aziz, Ingrid Bazin, Jean-Marc Sabatier, Mahmoud Fadl, Elisabeth Brambilla, and Michel De Waard, Chlorotoxin: A Helpful Natural Scorpion Peptide to Diagnose Glioma and Fight Tumor Invasion 2015 Apr; 7(4): 1079–1101.Published online 2015 Mar 27. PMCID: PMC4417956 PMID: 25826056 doi: 10.3390/toxins7041079
  • Olivera BM, Teichert RW (October 2007). "Diversity of the neurotoxic Conus peptides: a model for concerted pharmacological discovery". Molecular Interventions. 7 (5): 251–60.
  • Ortiz E, Gurrola GB, Schwartz EF, Possani LD. (2015). Scorpion venom components as potential candidates for drug development. Toxicon 93, 125-135.
  • Paola G Ojeda , David Ramírez Jans Alzate-Morales, Julio Caballero, Quentin Kaas, Wendy González, Computational Studies of Snake Venom Toxins PMID: 29271884 PMCID: PMC5793095 DOI: 10.3390/toxins10010008
  • Price, Andrew H. (2009). Venomous Snakes of Texas: A Field Guide. University of Texas Press. pp. 38–39. ISBN 978-0-292-71967-5.
  • Rao VR, Perez-Neut M, Kaja S, Gentile S. 2015. Voltage-gated ion channels in cancer cell proliferation. Cancers 7(2), 849-875.
  • Sasha Kapil1; Stephen Hendriksen2; Jeffrey S. Cooper3 Cone Snail Toxicity In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan.
  • Yoshiba S. [An estimation of the most dangerous species of cone shell, Conus (Gastridium) geographus Linne, 1758, venom's lethal dose in humans]. Nihon Eiseigaku Zasshi. 1984 Jun;39(2):565-72.
  • Yuri N Utkin(2015).  Animal venom studies: current benefits and future development. World J Biol Chem 6(2):28-33 ISSN1948-8454
  • Zhang L, Shi W, Zeng XC, Ge F, Yang M, Nie Y, Guoji E. 2015. Unique diversity of the venom peptides from the scorpion Androctonus bicolor revealed by transcriptomic and proteomic analysis. Journal of proteomics 128, 231-250.
    • " target="_blank"> BibTeX | PMC5848170 DOI: 10.3390/toxins10020069
  • Ciscotto, P.; Machado de Avila, R.A.; Coelho, E.A.; Oliveira, J.; Diniz, C.G.; Farias, L.M.; de Carvalho, M.A.; Maria, W.S.; Sanchez, E.F.; Borges, A.; et al. Antigenic, microbicidal and antiparasitic properties of an L-amino acid oxidase isolated from Bothrops jararaca snake venom. Toxicon 2009, 53, 330–341. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  • Chippaux JP. 2012. Emerging options for the management of scorpion stings. Drug design, development and therapy 6, 165.
  • DeBin JA, Maggio JE, Strichartz GR (February 1993). "Purification and characterization of chlorotoxin, a chloride channel ligand from the venom of the scorpion". Am. J. Physiol. 264 (2 Pt 1): C361–9.
  • Kolaskar A, Tongaonkar PC. A semi-empirical method for prediction of antigenic determinants on protein antigens. FEBS Lett. 1990; 276: 172–174.
  • Lourenço W. 2001. The scorpion families and their geographical distribution. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins 7(1), 03-23.
  • Lucie Dardevet, Dipti Rani, Tarek Abd El Aziz, Ingrid Bazin, Jean-Marc Sabatier, Mahmoud Fadl, Elisabeth Brambilla, and Michel De Waard, Chlorotoxin: A Helpful Natural Scorpion Peptide to Diagnose Glioma and Fight Tumor Invasion 2015 Apr; 7(4): 1079–1101.Published online 2015 Mar 27. PMCID: PMC4417956 PMID: 25826056 doi: 10.3390/toxins7041079
  • Olivera BM, Teichert RW (October 2007). "Diversity of the neurotoxic Conus peptides: a model for concerted pharmacological discovery". Molecular Interventions. 7 (5): 251–60.
  • Ortiz E, Gurrola GB, Schwartz EF, Possani LD. (2015). Scorpion venom components as potential candidates for drug development. Toxicon 93, 125-135.
  • Paola G Ojeda , David Ramírez Jans Alzate-Morales, Julio Caballero, Quentin Kaas, Wendy González, Computational Studies of Snake Venom Toxins PMID: 29271884 PMCID: PMC5793095 DOI: 10.3390/toxins10010008
  • Price, Andrew H. (2009). Venomous Snakes of Texas: A Field Guide. University of Texas Press. pp. 38–39. ISBN 978-0-292-71967-5.
  • Rao VR, Perez-Neut M, Kaja S, Gentile S. 2015. Voltage-gated ion channels in cancer cell proliferation. Cancers 7(2), 849-875.
  • Sasha Kapil1; Stephen Hendriksen2; Jeffrey S. Cooper3 Cone Snail Toxicity In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan.
  • Yoshiba S. [An estimation of the most dangerous species of cone shell, Conus (Gastridium) geographus Linne, 1758, venom's lethal dose in humans]. Nihon Eiseigaku Zasshi. 1984 Jun;39(2):565-72.
  • Yuri N Utkin(2015).  Animal venom studies: current benefits and future development. World J Biol Chem 6(2):28-33 ISSN1948-8454
  • Zhang L, Shi W, Zeng XC, Ge F, Yang M, Nie Y, Guoji E. 2015. Unique diversity of the venom peptides from the scorpion Androctonus bicolor revealed by transcriptomic and proteomic analysis. Journal of proteomics 128, 231-250.
    • " target="_blank">RIS | PMC5848170 DOI: 10.3390/toxins10020069
  • Ciscotto, P.; Machado de Avila, R.A.; Coelho, E.A.; Oliveira, J.; Diniz, C.G.; Farias, L.M.; de Carvalho, M.A.; Maria, W.S.; Sanchez, E.F.; Borges, A.; et al. Antigenic, microbicidal and antiparasitic properties of an L-amino acid oxidase isolated from Bothrops jararaca snake venom. Toxicon 2009, 53, 330–341. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  • Chippaux JP. 2012. Emerging options for the management of scorpion stings. Drug design, development and therapy 6, 165.
  • DeBin JA, Maggio JE, Strichartz GR (February 1993). "Purification and characterization of chlorotoxin, a chloride channel ligand from the venom of the scorpion". Am. J. Physiol. 264 (2 Pt 1): C361–9.
  • Kolaskar A, Tongaonkar PC. A semi-empirical method for prediction of antigenic determinants on protein antigens. FEBS Lett. 1990; 276: 172–174.
  • Lourenço W. 2001. The scorpion families and their geographical distribution. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins 7(1), 03-23.
  • Lucie Dardevet, Dipti Rani, Tarek Abd El Aziz, Ingrid Bazin, Jean-Marc Sabatier, Mahmoud Fadl, Elisabeth Brambilla, and Michel De Waard, Chlorotoxin: A Helpful Natural Scorpion Peptide to Diagnose Glioma and Fight Tumor Invasion 2015 Apr; 7(4): 1079–1101.Published online 2015 Mar 27. PMCID: PMC4417956 PMID: 25826056 doi: 10.3390/toxins7041079
  • Olivera BM, Teichert RW (October 2007). "Diversity of the neurotoxic Conus peptides: a model for concerted pharmacological discovery". Molecular Interventions. 7 (5): 251–60.
  • Ortiz E, Gurrola GB, Schwartz EF, Possani LD. (2015). Scorpion venom components as potential candidates for drug development. Toxicon 93, 125-135.
  • Paola G Ojeda , David Ramírez Jans Alzate-Morales, Julio Caballero, Quentin Kaas, Wendy González, Computational Studies of Snake Venom Toxins PMID: 29271884 PMCID: PMC5793095 DOI: 10.3390/toxins10010008
  • Price, Andrew H. (2009). Venomous Snakes of Texas: A Field Guide. University of Texas Press. pp. 38–39. ISBN 978-0-292-71967-5.
  • Rao VR, Perez-Neut M, Kaja S, Gentile S. 2015. Voltage-gated ion channels in cancer cell proliferation. Cancers 7(2), 849-875.
  • Sasha Kapil1; Stephen Hendriksen2; Jeffrey S. Cooper3 Cone Snail Toxicity In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan.
  • Yoshiba S. [An estimation of the most dangerous species of cone shell, Conus (Gastridium) geographus Linne, 1758, venom's lethal dose in humans]. Nihon Eiseigaku Zasshi. 1984 Jun;39(2):565-72.
  • Yuri N Utkin(2015).  Animal venom studies: current benefits and future development. World J Biol Chem 6(2):28-33 ISSN1948-8454
  • Zhang L, Shi W, Zeng XC, Ge F, Yang M, Nie Y, Guoji E. 2015. Unique diversity of the venom peptides from the scorpion Androctonus bicolor revealed by transcriptomic and proteomic analysis. Journal of proteomics 128, 231-250.
    • " target="_blank">CSV

    Article Preview