Meeting Abstract
Approximately 15% of Earth’s animal biodiversity produce toxins delivered through a mechanical feature for prey capture and/or defense. Collectively referred to as venoms, these toxins and their sophisticated delivery have convergently evolved between vastly different taxonomic groups. Due to (i) the pharmacological potential of these toxins and (ii) human health concerns presented by certain taxa (e.g. venomous snakes and spiders), efforts to understand the evolutionary processes underlying the diversification of venomous organisms and the functional aspects of their venom have expanded. Advances in next-generation sequencing technologies make the acquisition of genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic information more feasible as part of these efforts and provide the key to unlocking a wealth of knowledge not only on venomous animals, but also their associated “microbiome.” Despite the parallel advances of these fields as an outcome of utilizing NGS, a disconnect between Venomics and Host-Associated Microbiomes persists. Most overlapping studies identify anti-microbial components in venom, with little investigation of microbial interactions in the specialized glands or venom. These studies either focus on easily culturable species or exclude the wildtype microbial community as a control. We thus present the current knowledge of the microbial diversity known to be associated with venom as an introduction to our interdisciplinary group of more than 25 researchers worldwide that are currently working to establish high-throughput pipelines, standardized methodologies, and an open-source platform for all interested in studying the biological significance of the venom microbiome.
