Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Extraction of Venom and Venom Gland Microdissections from Spiders for Proteomic and Transcriptomic Analyses
Published on: November 3, 2014
Tentacles of venom: toxic protein convergence in the Kingdom Animalia
B G Fry1, K Roelants, J A Norman
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Venomics Research Laboratory, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia. bgf@unimelb.edu.au
Abstract:
The origin and evolution of venom in many animal orders remain controversial or almost entirely uninvestigated. Here we use cDNA studies of cephalopod posterior and anterior glands to reveal a single early origin of the associated secreted proteins. Protein types recovered were CAP (CRISP, Antigen 5 [Ag5] and Pathogenesis-related [PR-1]), chitinase, peptidase S1, PLA(2) (phospholipase A(2)), and six novel peptide types. CAP, chitinase, and PLA(2) were each recovered from a single species (Hapalochlaena maculosa, Octopus kaurna, and Sepia latimanus, respectively), while peptidase S1 transcripts were found in large numbers in all three posterior gland libraries. In addition, peptidase S1 transcripts were recovered from the anterior gland of H. maculata. We compare their molecular evolution to that of related proteins found in invertebrate and vertebrate venoms, revealing striking similarities in the types of proteins selected for toxic mutation and thus shedding light on what makes a protein amenable for use as a toxin.
Related Concept Videos
Diversity of Protists II
Convergent Evolution
Types of Toxins
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...
Bacterial Toxins
Tetanus
Conservation of Protein Domains Over Different Proteins
A limited set of protein domains often duplicate and recombine during evolution. These domains can be organized in different combinations to form...

