Venom-dominated animal survival adaptation

Abstract

Predation and defense are the core contents of ecological adaptation and physiological ecology of species. Animal venom system is a typical “biochemical weapon system” for animals to implement predation and defense functions, which is of great significance for understanding the physiological mechanism of animal ecological adaptation. Toxin molecules from various venomous animals have high structural and functional diversity. A variety of biological activities have been identified from the venom of poisonous animals, including neurotoxic activity, enzyme activity, cytotoxic activity, antibacterial activity, agglutinin activity, hemolytic activity, antithrombotic activity, coagulation activity, immunomodulatory activity, enzyme inhibitor activity, bradykinin enhancing activity, and antiviral activity. Toxins with high affinity and high selectivity are used by venomous animals to act on cell membranes, ion channels, receptors or enzymes to affect the nervous system, skeletal system, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular system and immune system, thus implementing fast and efficient predation and defense. In order to prey on poisonous animals, predators have been undergoing coevolution with poisonous animals. In this review, we introduce the molecular basis of predation and defense of venomous animals, the diversity of pharmacological functions and the adaptive mechanisms related to predation and defense of several typical venomous animals.