Venomics is the large-scale study of proteins associated with venom. Venom is a toxic substance secreted by animals, which is typically injected either offensively or defensively into prey or aggressors, respectively.
Venom is produced in a specialised gland (or glands) and is delivered through hollow fangs or a stinger. The main function of venom is to disrupt the physiological processes of the wounded animal through either neurotoxic or haemotoxic mechanisms. This can then help in certain processes such as procuring prey or deterring/escaping predators. Venom has evolved many times in multiple phyla, each having developed their own unique types of venom and methods of delivery independently.[1] However, due to the excessive amounts of venomous animals in the world, they are the major cause of animal-related deaths (~ 57,000 in 2013) than non-venomous animals (~22,000).[2] For example, snakes are responsible for more than 1-5 million biting-injuries, 421,000 (to 1.8 million) envenomings and 20,000 (to 94,000) deaths annually.[3] However, with venomic methods, venom can be co-opted into beneficial substances such as new medicines and effective insecticides.[4][5]
The Creation and History of Venomics Techniques
Venom is made up of multiple proteinous components, with each component differing in its structural complexity. Venom can be a mixture of simplistic peptides, secondary (α-helices and β-sheets) structured proteins and tertiary structured proteins (crystalline structures).[6] Furthermore, depending on the organism, there can be fundamental differences in the strategies they incorporate in their venom contents, the biggest difference being between invertebrates and vertebrates. For example, the majority of funnel-web spider’s venom was made up of peptides between 3-5 KDa (75%), with the remaining peptides being between 6.5-8.5 KDa in mass.[7] Conversely, snake venom is made up of more complex protein such as modified saliva proteins (CRISPs & kallikrein) and protein families that have had their genes recruited from other tissue groups (Acetylcholinesterase, crotasin, defensin & cystatin).[8] Due to this extraordinary amount of variation in the components that make up venom, a new field was needed to identify and categorise the millions of bioactive molecules that are found within the venom.[1] Therefore, by combining the methods of multiple fields such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and bioinformatics, an aptly named new field emerged named venomics.
Venomics was first established in the latter half of the 20th century as different ‘-omic’ technologies began to rise in popularity. However, the progression of venomics since its inception has always been reliant on and limited by the advancement of technology. Juan Calvete draws attention to this with explicitly when detailing the history of venomics.[9] He declares that ''the last revolutions made in venomics research in the last decade (1989-1999) are the direct result of advancements made in proteomic-centered methods and the indirect result of more widely available and cost-effective forms of transcriptomics and bio-informatics analysis''. One of the first popular research topics of venomics was the pharmacological properties of the polypeptide toxins found in snake venom (Specifically, Elapidae and Hydrophidae) due to the neurotoxic properties and their ability to cause respiratory failure in animals.[10] However, due to the lack of competent technology, less complex techniques (such dialysis to separate the venom), followed by simplistic chromatography and electrophoresis analysis, research was limited.
Evidence of early interest in snake venom was prevalent throughout the early 20th century with one of the first big breakthroughs being in the mid-1960s. For example, Halbert Raudonat was one of the first researchers to fractionate Cobra (Naja nivea) venom using a sophisticated dialysis and paper chromatography techniques.[12] Furthermore, Evert Karlsson and David Eaker were able to successfully purify the specific neurotoxins found in Cobra (Naja nigricollis) venom and found that those isolated polypeptides had a consistent molecular weight of around 7000.[13]
Future research in this field would eventually lead to indirect predictive models and then direct crystal structures of important many protein superfamilies.[14][11] For example, Barbara Low was one of the first to release a 3D structure of the three-finger protein (TFP), Erabutoxin-b.[15] TFPs are an example of α-Neurotoxins, they are small in structure (~60-80 amino acid length) and are a predominant component found in many snake venoms (representing up to 70%-95% of all toxins).[16][17]
The Current State and Methodology of Venomics
Retrospectively, venomics has made a lot of progress in sequencing and creating accurate models of toxic molecules through current advanced methods. Through these methods, global categorisation of venoms has also taken place, with previously studied venoms being documented and widely available. An example of this would be the ‘Animal toxin annotation project’ (Provided by the UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot), which is a database that aims to provide a high quality and freely available source of protein sequences, 3D structures and functional information on thousands of animal venom/poisons. So far, they have categorised over 6,500 toxins (Both venoms & poisons) at the protein-level, with the overall UniProt organisation having reviewed over 500,000 proteins and provided the proteomes of 100,000 organisms. However, even with today’s technology the deconstruction and cataloguing of the individual components of what makes up an animal’s venom takes a large amount of time and resources due to the overwhelming amount of molecules that are found in a single venom sample. This is complicated further when there are some animals (I.e. Cone snails) that can change the complexity and make-up of their venom depending on the circumstances (Offensive related or defensive related matters) of the envenoming.[18] Furthermore, inter-specific differences exist between male and female of a species with their venoms varying in quantities and toxicity.[19]
Professor Juan J. Calvete is a prolific researcher in venomics at the biomedical institute in Valencia and has extensively explained the process involved in untangling and analysing venom (Once in 2007 and recently in 2017.[21][20]
These involve the following steps:
(1) Venom collection, (2) Separation and quantification, (3) Identification and (4) Representation of components found.
(1) Venom collection methods
Venom milking is the most simplistic way of collecting a venom sample. It usually involves a vertebrate animal (Typically a snake) to deliver a venomous bite into a container. Similarly, electrical stimulation can be used for invertebrate animal (Insects and arachnids) subjects.[22] This practice has allowed for the discovery of the basic properties of venom and to understand the biological factors involved in venom production such as venom regeneration periods. Other methods involve post-mortem dissection of the venom glands to collect the required materials (Venom or tissue).
(2) Separation and quantification methods
Separation methods are the first step to decomplexify the venom sample, with a common method being reverse‐phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). This method can be applied broadly to nearly all venoms as a crude fractionation method and to detect the peptide bonds found. A less common techniques like 1D/2D gel electrophoresis can also be used in cases of venoms containing heavy, complex peptides (Preferable >10KDa). This means in additions to RP-HPLC, Gel electrophoresis can help identify large molecules (such as enzymes) and to help refine venom prior to further analytical methods.[1] Next, N-terminal sequencing is used to find the amino acid order of the fractionated proteins/peptides starting with the N-terminal end.[23] Furthermore, SDS‐PAGE (Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis) can be performed on the isolated proteins from the RP-HPLC to identify proteins of interest before moving on to the identification stage.[21]
(3) Identification methods
There are two predominantly used proteomic methods when identifying the structure of a peptide/protein, Top-down proteomics (TDP) and Bottom-up proteomics (BUP). TDP involves taking fractionated venom samples and analysing those peptides/proteins with Liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). This results in the identification and characterisation of all peptides/proteins present in the initial sample. While, BUP consists of fractionating and breaking down the peptides/proteins before analysis (LC-MS/MS) using chemical reduction, alkylating and enzymatic digestion (Typically with trypsin). BUP is more commonly used than TDP as breaking down the samples allows the components to meet the ideal mass range for LC-MS/MS analysis.[24][1] However, there are disadvantages and limitations with both identification methods. BUP results are prone to protein inference problems as large toxins can be broken down into smaller toxins which are shown in the output, but do not exist naturally within the venom sample. While, TDP is the newer method and is able to fill-in the gaps BUP leaves, TDP needs instruments with high amounts of resolving power (Typically 50,000 or above). Most studies will actually use both methods in parallel to obtain the most accurate results. Furthermore, transcriptomic/genomic methods can be used to create cDNA libraries from the extracted mRNA molecules expressed in the venom glands of a venomous animal. These methods optimise the protein identification process by producing the DNA sequences of all proteins expressed in the venom glands. A large problem in using transcriptomic/genomic analysis in venomic studies is the lack of full genome sequences of many venomous animals. However, this is a fleeting problem due to the amount of full genome projects involved in sequencing venomous animals such as the ‘venomous system genome project’ (Launched in 2003).[25] Through these projects, various fields of study such as ecological/evolutionary studies and venomic studies can provide supporting information and systematic analysis of toxins.
(4) Accurate representation of components
Renata Rodrigues produced an informative study detailing both the proteome and the transcriptome of the Neuwied’s Lancehead (Bothropoides pauloensis), with all the methods described above.[26] The proteome showed the presence of nine protein families with the majority of components belonging to snake venom metalloproteinases (38%), phospholipase A2 (31%) and Bradykinin-potentiating peptides/C-type natriuretic peptides (12%). The transcriptome gave a cDNA of over 1100 expressed sequence tags (ESTs), with only 688 sequences being related to the venom gland. Similarly, the transcriptome showed matching results with 36% of SVMP’s being the majority of the ESTs followed by PLA2 (26%) and BPP/C-NP (17%) sequences. Furthermore, this study shows that through both the use of proteomic and transcriptomics, we can fully comprehend the components within venom. This can then lead to both the molecular structure and functions of many bioactive components, which can intern lead to bioprospecting venom components into new medicines and can help to develop better methods of creating anti-venoms.
The Future Possibilities of Venomics
The field of venomics has been vastly revamped since its origin in the 20th century and continues to be improved with contemporary methods such as next generation sequencing and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. From this trend, it would seem that venomics will be progressively enhanced in its capabilities through the persistent technological advancements of the 21st century. As previously mentioned, a potential route that can be expanded upon further by venomics could be venom-specific molecules being co-opted into specialised medicines. The first example of this was in the early 1970s, when Captopril was found to be an inhibitor of angiotensin converting enzymes (ACE) and had the means of treating hypertension in people.[27] Glenn King discusses the current state of venom-derived drugs, with six drugs derived from venom being FDA-approved and ten more currently being under clinical trials.[28] Michael Pennington gives a detailed update on the current landscape of venom-derived drugs and the potential future of the field (Table 1).[4]
Anti-venoms is another branch of medicine, which needs to be improved due to the problems many developing countries face with venomous animals. Places like south/southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are where many cases of both morbidity (limb amputation) and mortality take place.[29] Snakes (especially Elapidae and Viperidae) are the leading cause of envenomings and antivenoms are in constant short supply in high risk areas due to the strenuous productive methods (Immunised animals) and the strict storage preferences (Constant below 0OC storage). This problem continues, when the medicine itself has limited effects on localised tissue and inevitably causes either acute (anaphylactic or pyrogenic) and delayed (serum sickness type) reactions in most patients.[30] However, by using different ‘omic’ technologies, the use of ‘Antivenomics’ can potentially make safer, more cost effective and less time-consuming ways of producing antivenoms for a range of toxic organisms. New antivenom methods are even being investigated today with the use of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and the expansion of venomous databases, allowing for more effective approaches when screening of cross-reactivity of antivenoms.[31][32] Lastly, agriculture can be improved upon by enhanced-venomic techniques through the invention of insect-specific biopesticides created from venom. Insects are both an agricultural/horticultural pest and act as vector/carriers of many parasites and disease.[33] Ergo, effective insecticides are always needed to control the destructive effects of many insect species. However, many insecticides used in the past, do not meet current regulations and have been banned due to harmful effects such as affecting non-target species (DDT) and having a high toxicity level towards mammals (Neonicotinoids).[34] Monique Windley propose arachnid venom is a potential solution to this problem due to the abundance of neurotoxic compounds present in their venom (Predicted 10million bioactive peptides) and due to their venom being specific towards insect.[5]
Table 1. Venom-derived medicines discussed by Pennington, Czerwinski et al., (2017).[4]
Treatment for | Mode of action/ Target site | Animal of origin | Development stage | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Captopril | Hypertension/ Congestive heart failure | ACE inhibitor | Pit viper | Approved |
Eptifibatide | Antiplatelet drug | Circulatory system | Pygmy rattlesnake | Approved |
Tirofiban | Antiplatelet drug | Circulatory system | Russell's viper | Approved |
Lepirudin | Anticoagulant | Thrombin inhibitor | Saw-scaled viper | Approved |
Bivalirudin | Anticoagulant | Thrombin inhibitor | Medicinal leech | Approved |
Ziconotide | Chronic pain | Voltage-gated calcium channels | Cone snail | Approved |
Exenatide | Type 2 diabetes | GLP-1 receptor | Gila monster | Approved |
Chlorotoxin | Tumour imaging | Cl− channels/
Glioma cells |
Deathstalker scorpion | Clinical
development |
Stichodactyla (ShK) | Autoimmune disease(s) | Voltage-gated potassium channels | Caribbean sea anemone | Clinical
development |
SOR-C13 | Cancer | TRPV6 | N. short-tailed shrew | Clinical
development |
HsTX1 [R14A] | Autoimmune disease(s) | Voltage-gated potassium channels | Giant Forest scorpion | Preclinical
development |
NaV1.7 blockers | Pain | NaV1.7 | Several tarantula species (Thrixopelma pruriens, Selenocosmia huwena, Pamphobeteus nigricolor) | Preclinical
development |
α-conotoxin RgIA | Pain | nACh receptors | Cone snail | Preclinical
development |
α-Conotoxin Vc1.1 | Pain | nAChRs | Cone snail | Discontinued |
χ-Conotoxin MrIA | Pain | Norepinephrine transporter inhibitor | Cone snail | Discontinued |
Contulakin-G | Pain | Neurotensin receptors | Cone snail | Discontinued |
Conantokin-G | Pain/Epilepsy | NMDA receptors | Cone snail
(Conus geographus) |
Discontinued |
Cenderitide | Cardiovascular disease(s) | ANP receptor B | Modified Green mamba venom | Discontinued |
References
- 1 2 3 4 Oldrati, Vera; Arrell, Miriam; Violette, Aude; Perret, Frédéric; Sprüngli, Xavier; Wolfender, Jean-Luc; Stöcklin, Reto (2016-11-15). "Advances in venomics". Molecular BioSystems. 12 (12): 3530–3543. doi:10.1039/C6MB00516K. ISSN 1742-2051. PMID 27787525.
- ↑ Abubakar, I. I.; Tillmann, T.; Banerjee, A. (2015-01-10). "Global, regional, and national age-sex specific all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 240 causes of death, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013". Lancet. 385 (9963): 117–171. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61682-2. hdl:11655/15525. PMC 4340604. PMID 25530442.
- ↑ Kasturiratne, Anuradhani; Wickremasinghe, A. Rajitha; de Silva, Nilanthi; Gunawardena, N. Kithsiri; Pathmeswaran, Arunasalam; Premaratna, Ranjan; Savioli, Lorenzo; Lalloo, David G; de Silva, H. Janaka (2008-11-04). "The Global Burden of Snakebite: A Literature Analysis and Modelling Based on Regional Estimates of Envenoming and Deaths". PLOS Medicine. 5 (11): e218. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050218. ISSN 1549-1676. PMC 2577696. PMID 18986210.
- 1 2 3 Pennington, Michael W.; Czerwinski, Andrzej; Norton, Raymond S. (June 2018). "Peptide therapeutics from venom: Current status and potential". Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry. 26 (10): 2738–2758. doi:10.1016/j.bmc.2017.09.029. ISSN 0968-0896. PMID 28988749.
- 1 2 Windley, Monique J.; Herzig, Volker; Dziemborowicz, Sławomir A.; Hardy, Margaret C.; King, Glenn F.; Nicholson, Graham M. (2012-03-22). "Spider-Venom Peptides as Bioinsecticides". Toxins. 4 (3): 191–227. doi:10.3390/toxins4030191. ISSN 2072-6651. PMC 3381931. PMID 22741062.
- ↑ Branden, Carl Ivar; Tooze, John (2012-03-26). Introduction to Protein Structure. doi:10.1201/9781136969898. ISBN 9780429062094.
- ↑ Escoubas, Pierre; Sollod, Brianna; King, Glenn F. (May 2006). "Venom landscapes: Mining the complexity of spider venoms via a combined cDNA and mass spectrometric approach". Toxicon. 47 (6): 650–663. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2006.01.018. ISSN 0041-0101. PMID 16574177.
- ↑ Fry, B. G. (2005-02-14). "From genome to "venome": Molecular origin and evolution of the snake venom proteome inferred from phylogenetic analysis of toxin sequences and related body proteins". Genome Research. 15 (3): 403–420. doi:10.1101/gr.3228405. ISSN 1088-9051. PMC 551567. PMID 15741511.
- ↑ Calvete, Juan J. (December 2013). "Snake venomics: From the inventory of toxins to biology". Toxicon. 75: 44–62. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2013.03.020. ISSN 0041-0101. PMID 23578513.
- ↑ Mebs, D. (May 1969). "Preliminary studies on small molecular toxic components of elapid venoms". Toxicon. 6 (4): 247–250. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(69)90092-0. ISSN 0041-0101. PMID 5805119.
- 1 2 Dewan, John C.; Grant, Gregory A.; Sacchettini, James C. (1994-11-08). "Crystal Structure of .kappa.-Bungarotoxin at 2.3-.ANG. Resolution". Biochemistry. 33 (44): 13147–13154. doi:10.1021/bi00248a026. ISSN 0006-2960. PMID 7947721.
- ↑ RAUDONAT, H.W. (1965), "Biochemistry and Pharmacology of Small Molecular Compounds of Cobra Venom (Naia Nivea)", Recent Advances in the Pharmacology of Toxins, Elsevier, pp. 87–92, doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-010811-7.50015-0, ISBN 9780080108117, retrieved 2021-09-21
- ↑ Karlsson, Evert; Eaker, David L.; Porath, Jerker (October 1966). "Purification of a neurotoxin from the venom of Naja nigricollis". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects. 127 (2): 505–520. doi:10.1016/0304-4165(66)90404-1. ISSN 0304-4165. PMID 5964986.
- ↑ Ryden, Lars; Gabel, Detlef; Eaker, David (2009-01-12). "A Model Of The Three-Dimensional Structure Of Snake Venom Neurotoxins Based On Chemical Evidence". International Journal of Peptide and Protein Research. 5 (4): 261–273. doi:10.1111/j.1399-3011.1973.tb03460.x. ISSN 0367-8377. PMID 4796698.
- ↑ Low, B. W.; Preston, H. S.; Sato, A.; Rosen, L. S.; Searl, J. E.; Rudko, A. D.; Richardson, J. S. (1976-09-01). "Three dimensional structure of erabutoxin b neurotoxic protein: inhibitor of acetylcholine receptor". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 73 (9): 2991–2994. Bibcode:1976PNAS...73.2991L. doi:10.1073/pnas.73.9.2991. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 430904. PMID 1067597.
- ↑ Tsetlin, Victor (September 1999). "Snake venom alpha-neurotoxins and other 'three-finger' proteins". European Journal of Biochemistry. 264 (2): 281–286. doi:10.1046/j.1432-1327.1999.00623.x. ISSN 0014-2956. PMID 10491072.
- ↑ Kessler, Pascal; Marchot, Pascale; Silva, Marcela; Servent, Denis (2017-03-21). "The three-finger toxin fold: a multifunctional structural scaffold able to modulate cholinergic functions". Journal of Neurochemistry. 142: 7–18. doi:10.1111/jnc.13975. ISSN 0022-3042. PMID 28326549.
- ↑ Dutertre, Sébastien; Jin, Ai-Hua; Vetter, Irina; Hamilton, Brett; Sunagar, Kartik; Lavergne, Vincent; Dutertre, Valentin; Fry, Bryan G.; Antunes, Agostinho; Venter, Deon J.; Alewood, Paul F. (2014-03-24). "Evolution of separate predation- and defence-evoked venoms in carnivorous cone snails". Nature Communications. 5 (1): 3521. Bibcode:2014NatCo...5.3521D. doi:10.1038/ncomms4521. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 3973120. PMID 24662800.
- ↑ Rodríguez-Ravelo, Rodolfo; Batista, Cesar V.F.; Coronas, Fredy I.V.; Zamudio, Fernando Z.; Hernández-Orihuela, Lorena; Espinosa-López, Georgina; Ruiz-Urquiola, Ariel; Possani, Lourival D. (December 2015). "Comparative proteomic analysis of male and female venoms from the Cuban scorpion Rhopalurus junceus". Toxicon. 107 (Pt B): 327–334. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2015.06.026. ISSN 0041-0101. PMID 26169670.
- 1 2 Calvete, Juan J.; Petras, Daniel; Calderón-Celis, Francisco; Lomonte, Bruno; Encinar, Jorge Ruiz; Sanz-Medel, Alfredo (2017-04-28). "Protein-species quantitative venomics: looking through a crystal ball". Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins Including Tropical Diseases. 23 (1): 27. doi:10.1186/s40409-017-0116-9. ISSN 1678-9199. PMC 5408492. PMID 28465678.
- 1 2 Calvete, Juan J.; Juárez, Paula; Sanz, Libia (2007). "Snake venomics. Strategy and applications". Journal of Mass Spectrometry. 42 (11): 1405–1414. Bibcode:2007JMSp...42.1405C. doi:10.1002/jms.1242. ISSN 1076-5174. PMID 17621391.
- ↑ Li, Rongli; Zhang, Lan; Fang, Yu; Han, Bin; Lu, Xiaoshan; Zhou, Tiane; Feng, Mao; Li, Jianke (2013). "Proteome and phosphoproteome analysis of honeybee (Apis mellifera) venom collected from electrical stimulation and manual extraction of the venom gland". BMC Genomics. 14 (1): 766. doi:10.1186/1471-2164-14-766. ISSN 1471-2164. PMC 3835400. PMID 24199871.
- ↑ Reim, David F.; Speicher, David W. (June 1997). "N‐Terminal Sequence Analysis of Proteins and Peptides". Current Protocols in Protein Science. 8 (1): Unit-11.10. doi:10.1002/0471140864.ps1110s08. ISSN 1934-3655. PMC 2917096. PMID 18429102.
- 1 2 Melani, Rafael D.; Nogueira, Fabio C. S.; Domont, Gilberto B. (2017-10-18). "It is time for top-down venomics". Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins Including Tropical Diseases. 23 (1): 44. doi:10.1186/s40409-017-0135-6. ISSN 1678-9199. PMC 5648493. PMID 29075288.
- ↑ Ménez, André; Stöcklin, Reto; Mebs, Dietrich (March 2006). "'Venomics' or: The venomous systems genome project". Toxicon. 47 (3): 255–259. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2005.12.010. ISSN 0041-0101. PMID 16460774.
- 1 2 Rodrigues, Renata S.; Boldrini-França, Johara; Fonseca, Fernando P.P.; de la Torre, Pilar; Henrique-Silva, Flávio; Sanz, Libia; Calvete, Juan J.; Rodrigues, Veridiana M. (May 2012). "Combined snake venomics and venom gland transcriptomic analysis of Bothropoides pauloensis". Journal of Proteomics. 75 (9): 2707–2720. doi:10.1016/j.jprot.2012.03.028. ISSN 1874-3919. PMID 22480909.
- ↑ Smith, Charles G.; Vane, John R. (May 2003). "The Discovery of Captopril". The FASEB Journal. 17 (8): 788–789. doi:10.1096/fj.03-0093life. ISSN 0892-6638. PMID 12724335. S2CID 45232683.
- ↑ King, Glenn (2021-09-21). "Venoms to Drugs: Translating Venom Peptides into Therapeutics" (PDF). Venoms to Drugs. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
- ↑ Del Brutto, O. H.; Del Brutto, V. J. (2011-10-15). "Neurological complications of venomous snake bites: a review". Acta Neurologica Scandinavica. 125 (6): 363–372. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0404.2011.01593.x. ISSN 0001-6314. PMID 21999367. S2CID 135451181.
- ↑ de Silva, H. Asita; Ryan, Nicole M.; de Silva, H. Janaka (2015-09-16). "Adverse reactions to snake antivenom, and their prevention and treatment". British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 81 (3): 446–452. doi:10.1111/bcp.12739. ISSN 0306-5251. PMC 4767202. PMID 26256124.
- ↑ Teixeira-Araújo, Ricardo; Castanheira, Patrícia; Brazil-Más, Leonora; Pontes, Francisco; Leitão de Araújo, Moema; Machado Alves, Maria Lucia; Zingali, Russolina Benedeta; Correa-Netto, Carlos (2017-05-12). "Antivenomics as a tool to improve the neutralizing capacity of the crotalic antivenom: a study with crotamine". Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins Including Tropical Diseases. 23 (1): 28. doi:10.1186/s40409-017-0118-7. ISSN 1678-9199. PMC 5427561. PMID 28507562.
- ↑ Laustsen, Andreas; Engmark, Mikael; Milbo, Christina; Johannesen, Jónas; Lomonte, Bruno; Gutiérrez, José; Lohse, Brian (2016-11-10). "From Fangs to Pharmacology: The Future of Snakebite Envenoming Therapy". Current Pharmaceutical Design. 22 (34): 5270–5293. doi:10.2174/1381612822666160623073438. ISSN 1381-6128. PMID 27339430.
- ↑ Pimentel, David (2009), "Pesticides and Pest Control", Integrated Pest Management: Innovation-Development Process, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 83–87, doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-8992-3_3, ISBN 978-1-4020-8991-6, retrieved 2021-09-21
- ↑ Sanchez-Bayo, F. (2014-11-13). "The trouble with neonicotinoids". Science. 346 (6211): 806–807. Bibcode:2014Sci...346..806S. doi:10.1126/science.1259159. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 25395518. S2CID 2507180.