Skip to main content
Home

Information for:

  • Alumni
  • Applicants
  • Current Students
  • Staff
  • Parents
  • Job Vacancies
  • Covid-19
  • Cymraeg
My country:

Main Menu

    • Study Options
      • Study Home
      • Why Study at Bangor?
      • Undergraduate Study
      • Postgraduate Taught Study
      • Postgraduate Research
      • Part-time Courses
      • January Start Courses
      • Degree Apprenticeships
      • Study Abroad
      • Work Experience
    • Study Advice
      • Apply
      • Already Applied?
      • Fees and Finances
      • Scholarships and Bursaries
      • Get Ready for University
    • Explore Bangor
      • Open Days and Visits
      • Virtual Student Experience

    Find a Course

    Order a Prospectus

    • Student Life
      • Student Life Home
      • Bangor and the Area
      • Social Life and Entertainment
      • Accommodation
      • Clubs and Societies
      • Sport
      • Virtual Student Experience
    • Your Experience at Bangor
      • Student Support
      • Skills and Employability
      • Study or Work Abroad
      • Fees and Finances

    Student Profiles

    Student Videos and Vlogs

    • Choose Bangor
      • International Home
      • Why Bangor?
      • Location
      • Accommodation
      • Student Support
      • Contact Us
    • Apply
      • Entry Requirements
      • Tuition Fees and Scholarships
      • How to Apply
      • Already Applied
      • Study Abroad
      • Exchanges

    Country Specific Information

    Join us on a Virtual Open Day

    Bangor University International College

    Covid-19 Information

    • Research
      • Research Home
      • About Our Research
      • Research in our Academic Schools
      • Research Institutes and Centres
      • Research Portal
      • Research, Innovation and Impact Office (RIIO)
      • Energy
      • Research News
    • Postgraduate Research Opportunities
      • Postgraduate Research
      • Doctoral School
    • Events and Training Opportunities
      • Researcher Development
    • The University
      • About Us
      • Our Mission
      • Strategy 2030
      • Annual Review
      • Our Location
      • Academic Schools and Colleges
      • Services and Facilities
      • Vice Chancellor’s Office
      • Working with Business
      • Working with the Community
      • Sustainability
      • Health and Wellbeing
      • Contact Us
    • Working for Us
      • Job Vacancies
    • University Management and Governance
      • Policies and Procedures
      • Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement
      • Management and Governance
    • University and the Community
      • Pontio
      • Sports Facilities
      • Conference Facilities
      • Places to Eat and Drink
      • Public Events
      • Widening Access
      • Services to Schools
    • Business Services
      • Business Services Home
    • Collaboration Hub
      • Collaboration Hub
      • Funding for Collaborative Research and Development (R&D) & Innovation
      • Business Facilities and Networks
      • Consultancy, Specialist Expertise and Knowledge
      • Commercialisation and Intellectual Property (IP)
      • Student Placements and Internships in Business & Enterprise
      • Training and Continuing Professional Development
      • Degree Apprenticeships
    • Conferencing and Business Dining
      • Conferencing Facilities
      • Business Dining
    • Contacts
      • Research, Innovation and Impact Office (RIIO)
      • Get In Touch
    • News
      • Current News
      • Research News
      • Student News
    • Events
      • Events

    • Study Options
      • Study Home
      • Why Study at Bangor?
      • Undergraduate Study
      • Postgraduate Taught Study
      • Postgraduate Research
      • Part-time Courses
      • January Start Courses
      • Degree Apprenticeships
      • Study Abroad
      • Work Experience
    • Study Advice
      • Apply
      • Already Applied?
      • Fees and Finances
      • Scholarships and Bursaries
      • Get Ready for University
    • Explore Bangor
      • Virtual Open Days and Visits
      • Virtual Student Experience

    Find a Course

    Order a Prospectus

    • Student Life
      • Student Life Home
      • Bangor and the Area
      • Social Life and Entertainment
      • Accommodation
      • Clubs and Societies
      • Sport
      • Virtual Student Experience
    • Your Experience at Bangor
      • Student Support
      • Skills and Employability
      • Study or Work Abroad
      • Fees and Finances

    Student Profiles

    Student Videos and Vlogs

    • Choose Bangor
      • International Home
      • Why Bangor?
      • Location
      • Student Support
      • Contact Us
    • Apply
      • Entry Requirements
      • Tuition Fees and Scholarships
      • How to Apply
      • Already Applied
      • Study Abroad
      • Exchanges

    Country Specific Information

    Join us on a Virtual Open Day

    Bangor University International College

    Covid-19 Information

    • Research
      • Research Home
      • About Our Research
      • Research in our Academic Schools
      • Research Institutes and Centres
      • Research Portal
      • Research, Innovation and Impact Office (RIIO)
      • Energy
      • Research News
    • Postgraduate Research Opportunities
      • Postgraduate Research
      • Doctoral School
    • Events and Training Opportunities
      • Researcher Development
    • The University
      • About Us
      • Our Mission
      • Strategy 2030
      • Annual Review
      • Our Location
      • Academic Schools and Colleges
      • Services and Facilities
      • Vice Chancellor’s Office
      • Working with Business
      • Working with the Community
      • Sustainability
      • Health and Wellbeing
      • Contact Us
    • Working for Us
      • Job Vacancies
    • University Management and Governance
      • Policies and Procedures
      • Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement
      • Management and Governance
    • University and the Community
      • Pontio
      • Sports Facilities
      • Conference Facilities
      • Places to Eat and Drink
      • Public Events
      • Widening Access
      • Services to Schools
    • Business Services
      • Business Services Home
    • Collaboration Hub
      • Collaboration Hub
      • Funding for Collaborative Research and Development (R&D) & Innovation
      • Business Facilities and Networks
      • Consultancy, Specialist Expertise and Knowledge
      • Commercialisation and Intellectual Property (IP)
      • Student Placements and Internships in Business & Enterprise
      • Training and Continuing Professional Development
      • Degree Apprenticeships
    • Conferencing and Business Dining
      • Conferencing Facilities
      • Business Dining
    • Contacts
      • Research, Innovation and Impact Office (RIIO)
      • Get In Touch
    • News
      • Current News
      • Research News
      • Student News
    • Events
      • Events

Information for:

  • Alumni
  • Applicants
  • Current Students
  • Staff
  • Parents
  • Job Vacancies
  • Covid-19
My country:

Search

Close

Breadcrumb

  • Cymraeg

Share this page:
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

New understanding of venom could open door to more effective antivenoms

The painted saw-scaled viper (Echis coloratus) one of the species used in the research.The painted saw-scaled viper (Echis coloratus) one of the species used in the research.New research, which disproves the theory that venom evolved just once in reptiles, could also lead to new medical treatments to counteract snakebite.

The “Toxicofera hypothesis”, which proposed that venom evolved and that the majority of reptile species alive today descended from a common venomous ancestor was first put forward nearly a decade ago. At the time this was a radical proposition, as traditionally venom was believed to have multiple origins. Whilst the Toxicofera hypothesis has become widely accepted, it had never actually been tested, until now.

Researchers in the School of Biological Sciences at Bangor University used cutting-edge DNA sequencing technology to study gene expression in the venom and salivary glands, as well as several other body tissues from a range of venomous and non-venomous reptiles to test the robustness of the Toxicofera hypothesis.

Writing in December issue of the journal Toxicon (doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2014.10.004), Bangor PhD student Adam Hargreaves and his supervisor Dr. John Mulley, together with colleagues at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth University, found that the Toxicofera hypothesis is not supported by these new data, prompting a return to the traditional hypothesis that venom evolved at least  twice in reptiles.

Adam Hargreaves at work in the lab at the School of Biological Sciences.Adam Hargreaves at work in the lab at the School of Biological Sciences.“We are very interested in the evolution of venom, which everyone thought had evolved only a single time early on in reptile evolution”, explains Adam Hargreaves. “However, when we started looking at the data, we found no evidence to back this up. Instead it looks like many genes used in support of the Toxicofera hypothesis are normal maintenance or “housekeeping” genes, and not toxins. Taking that into account, the inevitable conclusion is that venom has evolved more than once in reptiles, and that previous studies were overreaching in their claims.”

This has profound implications for how the evolution of venom is understood, and also for the design of new medical treatments to counteract snakebite.

Dr. John Mulley explains: “Ruling out so many of the proposed toxins as actual components of venom means that snake venom is far simpler than was previously suggested, with the majority of venom complexity limited to just a few gene families. It seems likely therefore that we can develop more effective antivenom treatments which focus on combatting the effects of just these families. More fundamentally, this new research demonstrates the power of advanced DNA sequencing technologies to shed new light on old questions, and to overturn established hypotheses regarding the evolution of venom in reptiles.”

The research was supported by the Royal Society, the Wellcome Trust and the Biosciences, Environment and Agriculture Alliance between Bangor and Aberystwyth universities, with analyses carried out using High Performance Computing (HPC) Wales infrastructure.

Publication date: 15 December 2014

Home

About Us

Academic Schools and Colleges

  • School of Natural Sciences
    • Home
    • About the School
      • Our Location
      • Bangor and the Area
      • Commercial Facilities
      • Our Staff
      • Teaching
      • Athena Swan
    • Our Staff
    • Key Subjects
      • Biology
      • Conservation
      • Food Security
      • Environment
      • Forestry
      • Geography
      • Zoology
    • Undergraduate Study
      • Order a prospectus
      • University Open Days
      • Offer Holder Days
      • Why Study at Bangor?
      • Accommodation
      • Get ready for University
      • Student Life
      • Scholarships & Bursaries
      • Fees & Finances
      • Study or Work Abroad
      • Our Videos
      • What our Students say
    • Postgraduate Study
      • Why study with us?
      • Register your interest in postgraduate study
      • Fees & Finances
      • Scholarships & Funding
      • Entry requirements
      • Applying to Bangor
      • Accommodation
      • Student Support
      • Student Life
      • Studying at Bangor
      • Student Profiles
    • Order a Prospectus
    • Open Days
    • Distance Learning
      • About us
      • Our Courses
      • Teaching and Learning
      • What our students say...
      • Our Videos
      • Careers and Employability
      • How to Apply
      • Course Structure
      • Publications and News
      • Fees
      • Entry Requirements
      • Contact details
    • Professional Accreditation
    • Our Research
      • Biology and Zoology
        • Molecular Ecology and Evolution
        • Biogeochemistry and Plant Science
        • Animal Physiology, Behaviour and Conservation
        • Microbiology, Parasitology and Biotechnology
        • Research degrees
      • Environment and Natural Resources
        • Research Students
        • Opportunities
        • Project websites
        • Facilities
        • Partners and Collaborators
    • Outreach activities
      • Chemistry
        • Salters Events
        • Welsh and English Interactive Periodic Table
    • News
    • Opportunities
    • Contact us
Home

Follow Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn

Bangor University

Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DG, UK

+44 (0)1248 351151

Contact Us

Visit Us

Maps & Directions

Policy

  • Legal Compliance
  • Modern Slavery Act 2015 Statement
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy and Cookies
  • Welsh Language Policy
Map

Bangor University is a Registered Charity: No. 1141565

© 2020 Bangor University