Biology

Dr. Kartik Sunagar
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Venomous animals have fascinated humans for millennia, and for good reasons. Injection of even miniscule amounts of certain venom components can result in rapid paralysis and death. The evolution of venom, one of nature’s most complex biochemical concoctions, has underpinned the predatory success and diversification of numerous animal lineages. Such a cocktail of pharmacologically active peptides, proteins, salts, and organic molecules is often employed for both predation and defence by the secreting animal. I study animal venoms as a model system to understand various aspects in evolutionary biology, molecular biology and ecology. I have studied venoms across the breadth of the animal kingdom, including those of snakes, lizards, cnidarians (jellyfish, sea anemone, corals and hydras) – the first venomous animals, scorpions, spiders, centipedes, insects, vampire bats and coleoids (octopus, cuttlefish and squids). I employ an
interdisciplinary approach, spanning omics (transcriptomics, proteomics and genomics), bioinformatics (e.g., simulations, evolutionary rate estimations, sequence and phylogenetic
reconstructions) and molecular biology (e.g., transgenesis) in order to uncover i) the molecular and biochemical diversity in animal venoms; ii) the evolutionary origin and diversification of toxic
protein families and the toxin- delivery apparatus; iii) the role of environmental and ecological factors in driving the evolution of venom and the venomous animals; iv) the molecular mechanisms of causing toxicity; and v) the evolution of venom resistance in prey animals. Most importantly, my research aims at utilizing the aforementioned information for the production of highly specific, efficient and cost effective next-generation antivenoms in India, where snakebite has become a socio-economical disease.