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Venom Genomics and Proteomics pp 381–392Cite as

Purinergic Mechanisms of Prey Acquisition by Venomous Organisms

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Part of the book series: Toxinology ((TOXI))

Abstract

Venomous organisms are equipped with “venom,” which is injected through specialized devices (spines, fangs, stingers, hypostomes, spurs, harpoons) that help in the acquisition of prey and its digestion. The venom also serves as a defensive armament in protecting itself against the predators and aggressors. The diverse and synergistically acting cocktail of biologically active molecules of the venoms have been evolved with precise function to intervene in the biological systems of the prey/victims, thus helping in acquisition and its subsequent digestion. Although the potential role of many of the major principal constituents of venom in envenomation has been well documented, there is lack of information on the functional significance on the near ubiquitous distribution of purines and its endogenous (prey tissue) release-related enzymes in the venom of the venomous organisms. Purines acting via purinergic receptors are known to act as multitoxin and are known to be a central component of envenomation strategies, thus exemplifying the involvement of purinergic signaling in envenomation (immobilization and digestion). This work attempts to give an insight into the existence of purinergic signaling in envenomation strategies of venomous organisms. The work also explains how injecting exogenous (venom) nucleosides and releasing endogenous (prey tissue) nucleosides with venom enzymes are of complementary envenomation strategies. Further, it focuses on the recent experimental evidence in support of purinergic signaling in envenomation and highlights the importance of estimation of the physiological concentration of purines injected or released (in prey tissue) by action of venom enzymes for the establishment of purinergic signaling during envenomation.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Emerging Technologies, Jain University, Jakkasandra post, Ramanagara, 562112, Karnataka, India

    Bhadrapura Lakkappa Dhananjaya

  2. Department of Studies in Biochemistry, University of Mysore, Mysore, 570006, India

    Cletus J. M. D’Souza

Authors
  1. Bhadrapura Lakkappa Dhananjaya
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  2. Cletus J. M. D’Souza
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bhadrapura Lakkappa Dhananjaya .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Venom and Toxin Research Programme, Department of Anatomy, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    P. Gopalakrishnakone

  2. Structural and Functional Venomics Lab, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (CSIC), Valencia, Spain

    Juan J. Calvete

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Dhananjaya, B.L., D’Souza, C.J.M. (2016). Purinergic Mechanisms of Prey Acquisition by Venomous Organisms. In: Gopalakrishnakone, P., Calvete, J. (eds) Venom Genomics and Proteomics. Toxinology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6416-3_1

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