Snake Venom Gland Organoids

Area of Science:

• Comparative biology
• Stem cell biology
• Toxicology

Background:

• Adult stem cells (ASCs) in mammals can be cultured as 3D organoids, mimicking epithelial tissues.
• Organoid technology has primarily focused on mammalian systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish and characterize long-term expanding venom gland organoids from snake species.
• To investigate the utility of these organoids as a model for snake venom production and reptilian tissue biology.

Main Methods:

• Development of 3D organoid cultures from snake venom glands.
• Transcriptome assembly and analysis of the Cape coral snake.
• Single-cell RNA sequencing of organoids and primary venom gland tissue.

Main Results:

• Successfully established long-term expanding venom gland organoids from multiple snake species.
• Organoids express high levels of toxin transcripts, mirroring primary tissue.
• Identified distinct venom-expressing and proliferative cell types, including stem cell marker homologs.
• Demonstrated maintained regional heterogeneity in venom component expression and biological activity of harvested venom peptides.

Conclusions:

• Organoid technology is successfully extended to reptilian tissues, specifically snake venom glands.
• Snake venom gland organoids provide an experimentally tractable model system for studying venom composition, toxin expression, and stem cell biology in reptiles.