Composition and Mode of Action of Some Invertebrate Venoms

Welsh, John H.

doi:10.1146/annurev.pa.04.040164.001453

Cited by 57 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…[A. Woods, School of Biological Sciences, University of New South Wales]The venoms of sting-bearing ants which have been studied in recent years can be classified broadly as proteinaceous to the ven?m ?o the gulosa, .rel.es the ven?ra t honey bee, '-',here~a vulgaris, association with the amines in many invertebrate venoms(29). The venom of Vespa vulgaris also yields the low-molecular-weight peptide known as wasp kinin.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ant Venoms, Attractants, and Repellents

Cavill

Robertson

1965

Science

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netic data, in our understanding of the solar origin of magnetic fields near the orbit of 'the earth. The existence of a very-large-scale coherent pattern of solar magnetic fields, both across the surface of the sun and out into interplanetary space, is ian extremely important finding. It promises to open new directions of research in the fields of solar activity, solar terrestrial relations!hips, and sitellar magnetic fields. netic data, in our understanding of the solar origin of magnetic fields near the orbit of 'the earth. The existence of a very-large-scale coherent pattern of solar magnetic fields, both across the surface of the sun and out into interplanetary space, is ian extremely important finding. It promises to open new directions of research in the fields of solar activity, solar terrestrial relations!hips, and sitellar magnetic fields.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ant Venoms, Attractants, and Repellents

Cavill

Robertson

1965

Science

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“…Two definitions (Welsh, 1964;Freyvogel, 1972) allowed for the topical application of venom. There are a host of biological toxins that are applied externally by means of a sometimes elaborate mechanism, but the inclusion of these would require serious changes to the current understanding and usage of the term venom.…”

Section: (1) Hierarchy and Exclusivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are a host of biological toxins that are applied externally by means of a sometimes elaborate mechanism, but the inclusion of these would require serious changes to the current understanding and usage of the term venom. Nevertheless, it is understandable why Freyvogel (1972) and Welsh (1964) included the topical application of biological toxins as venoms. Spitting cobras (genera Naja and Hemachatus), for example, can introduce their biological toxins to an enemy via injection by fangs, or by spraying it, aiming at the recipient's face and eyes.…”

Section: (1) Hierarchy and Exclusivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Poisons, toxungens, and venoms: redefining and classifying toxic biological secretions and the organisms that employ them

et al. 2013

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Despite extensive study of poisonous and venomous organisms and the toxins they produce, a review of the literature reveals inconsistency and ambiguity in the definitions of 'poison' and 'venom'. These two terms are frequently conflated with one another, and with the more general term, 'toxin.' We therefore clarify distinctions among three major classes of toxins (biological, environmental, and anthropogenic or man-made), evaluate prior definitions of venom which differentiate it from poison, and propose more rigorous definitions for poison and venom based on differences in mechanism of delivery. We also introduce a new term, 'toxungen', thereby partitioning toxic biological secretions into three categories: poisons lacking a delivery mechanism, i.e. ingested, inhaled, or absorbed across the body surface; toxungens delivered to the body surface without an accompanying wound; and venoms, delivered to internal tissues via creation of a wound. We further propose a system to classify toxic organisms with respect to delivery mechanism (absent versus present), source (autogenous versus heterogenous), and storage of toxins (aglandular versus glandular). As examples, a frog that acquires toxins from its diet, stores the secretion within cutaneous glands, and transfers the secretion upon contact or ingestion would be heteroglandular-poisonous; an ant that produces its own toxins, stores the secretion in a gland, and sprays it for defence would be autoglandular-toxungenous; and an anemone that produces its own toxins within specialized cells that deliver the secretion via a penetrating wound would be autoaglandular-venomous. Adoption of our scheme should benefit our understanding of both proximate and ultimate causes in the evolution of these toxins.

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“…Toxic peptides produced by predatory (Carte 1996) and are being trialled as strong pain killers and potential drugs against epilepsy, depression and schizophrenia (Concar 1996). Interestingly, a different class of toxins has been isolated from several muricids, including Dicathais orbita (Whitaker 1959;Welsh 1964;Roseghini 1971). While some of these toxins have been tested and shown to possess pharmacological activity (Whitaker 1960), their potential use as muscle relaxants, or tools for exploring cellular processes, have not been followed up.…”

Section: Molluscan Medicines -Links Between Biological and Chemical Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molluscan resources: their past, present and future value

Benkendorff¹

1999

The Other 99%: The Conservation and Biodiversity of Invertebrates

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The resource potential of most molluscs is likely to be underestimated. One mollusc, Dicathais orbita, produces a number of potential resources, including pharmaceuticals and materials, from both the adults and egg masses. The value of natural resources can change over time and one resource can have multiple uses. The resource potential of molluscs increases with greater biological diversity. Molluscs from different phylogenetic backgrounds and habitats produce a range of different metabolites and mineralized structures. Ultimately, a wealth of potential resources remains to be discovered among the molluscs and this should provide an incentive for their conservation.

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Composition and Mode of Action of Some Invertebrate Venoms

Cited by 57 publications

References 29 publications

Ant Venoms, Attractants, and Repellents

Ant Venoms, Attractants, and Repellents

Poisons, toxungens, and venoms: redefining and classifying toxic biological secretions and the organisms that employ them

Molluscan resources: their past, present and future value

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