Ecological functions and significance of animal toxins 2600-OG-EN-EFS

The aim of the course is to familiarize students with the ecological functions of toxins and venoms/poisons produced by animals (mainly vertebrates) and their significance in human life.

Lectures:
Basic definitions and concepts of venom, poison and toxicity (toxin, venom, poison, toxungen, toxicity, venomousness, poisonous, venomous)
Differences between venomous and poisonous animals
Sources of toxicity/venomousness in vertebrates (de novo toxin synthesis, secondary metabolic pathways, sequestration, examples)
Variation in the composition and toxicity of animal venoms and poisons, causes and consequences of this variation (impact of environmental factors: habitat type, geographic range, altitude; impact of individual traits: age, developmental stage, sex, body mass, body condition, examples)
Ecological functions of animal venoms and toxins (prey hunting, food foraging and storage – optimal foraging theory; defense against predators, parasites and microorganisms; inter- and intraspecific competition, social communication, offspring care, examples)
An overview of poisonous and venomous vertebrates (examples of toxic and venomous fish, poisonous amphibians, venomous reptiles, toxic/poisonous birds and venomous mammals)
Costs of venom/poison/toxin production – background and consequences (metabolic costs of venom/poison production, venom optimization hypothesis, venom metering hypothesis, behavioral control of venom/toxin secretion, examples)
Significance of animal venoms and toxins in human life (history of the use of animal toxins by humans, the use of toxins in medicine and pharmacology, the potential use of animals toxins as a biological weapon – bioterrorism)

Całkowity nakład pracy studenta

Contact hours with teacher (20 hrs): - participation in lectures – 15 hrs - consultations – 5 hrs Self-study hours (20 hrs): - preparation for lectures – 5 hrs - reading literature – 5 hrs - preparation for test - 10 hrs Altogether: 40 hrs (2 ECTS)

Efekty uczenia się - wiedza

Student W1: has basic knowledge of toxinology and toxicology, animal venoms, ecology and evolution of animal venoms/toxins – K_W02 W2: knows and understands relations between anatomy, morphology, physiology and toxicity/venomousness of vertebrates – K_W02, K_W05 W3: has advanced knowledge on venom production, costs of venom/poison production, variation in venom/poison composition and toxicity as well as ecology and evolution of animal toxins – K_W01, K_W03 W4: knows and is able to provide examples of venomous and poisonous vertebrates and is able to classify them according to their systematic position – K_W02, K_W05 W5: knows and understands ecological functions of animal venoms/toxins – K_W02, K_W05 W6: knows and understands the impact of animal toxins on human health – K_W07 W7: is able to provide professional literature in the field including animal venoms and toxins and their ecological functions – K_W16

Efekty uczenia się - umiejętności

Student U1: is able to use the knowledge on animal anatomy, morphology and physiology to analyze biological processes – K_U02 U2: has the ability to develop scientific hypotheses based on logical reasoning – K_U07 U3: has the ability to correctly assess threats to human health and life – K_U05 U4: using English source information, has the ability to perform analyses, summarize and critically assess data, allowing formulation of correct conclusions – K_U09 U5: demonstrates the ability to read and understand professional literature in the native language and in English – K_U11

Efekty uczenia się - kompetencje społeczne

Student K1: understands the need to constantly expand knowledge with the use of scientific and popular science magazines – K_K01 K2: has the ability to keep abreast of professional developments in the field of natural sciences together with an ability to inspire and organize the learning processes in others – K_K02 K3: is well prepared to develop a rational and critical approach to information obtained from scientific literature, the Internet, and other mass media, as well as popular beliefs relating to biological sciences – K_K03 K4: is aware of the responsibility for the reliability of analyzes and expert opinions – K_K04 K5: is ready to keep a critical eye on working results – K_K06 K6: is ready to popularize biological knowledge – K_K07 K7: is capable of teamwork – K_K11

Metody dydaktyczne

Expository teaching methods: - informative lecture - participatory lecture - problem-based lecture - discussion

Metody dydaktyczne podające

- wykład konwersatoryjny
- wykład informacyjny (konwencjonalny)
- wykład problemowy

Rodzaj przedmiotu

przedmiot fakultatywny

Wymagania wstępne

Basic knowledge on vertebrate biology and ecology

Koordynatorzy przedmiotu

Krzysztof Kowalski

Kryteria oceniania

Assessment methods:
- obligatory attendance
- activity during classes
- test

Assessment criteria – lecture:
fail - < 51%
satisfactory – 51-60%
satisfactory plus – 61-70%
good – 71-80%
good plus – 81-90%
very good – 91-100%

Praktyki zawodowe

Not applicable

Literatura

Arbuckle, K. 2017. Evolutionary Context of Venom in Animals. In Evolution of Venomous Animals and Their Toxins; Gopalakrishnakone, P., Malhotra A., Eds.; Toxinology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6458-3_16
Bücherl, W.; Buckley, E.E.; Deulofeu, V. 1968. Venomous animals and their venoms. Academic Press, New York-London.
Casewell, N.R.; Wüster, W.; Vonk, F.J.; Harrison, R.A.; Fry, B.G. 2013. Complex cocktails: the evolutionary novelty of venoms. Trends Evol. Ecol. 28, 219-229.
Clark, G.C.; Casewell, N.R.; Elliott, C.T.; Harvey, A.L.; Jamieson, A.G.; Strong, P.N.; Turner, A.D. 2019. Friends or foes? Emerging impacts of biological toxins. Trends Biochem. Sci. 44, 365-379.
Dufton, M.J. 1992. Venomous mammals. Pharmacol. Ther. 53, 199-215.
Fry, B.G.; Roelants, K.; Champagne, D.E.; Scheib, H.; Tyndall, J.D.; King, G.F.; Nevalainen, T.J.; Norman, J.A.; Lewis, R.J.; Norton, R.S.; Renjifo, C.; de la Vega, R.C. 2009. The toxicogenomic multiverse: convergent recruitment of proteins into animal venoms. Annu. Rev. Genomics Hum. Genet. 10, 483-511.
Gopalakrishnakone, P. 2015. Biological Toxins and Bioterrorism. Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.
Harris, R.J.; Jenner, R.A. 2019. Evolutionary Ecology of Fish Venom: Adaptations and Consequences of Evolving a Venom System. Toxins 11, 60. doi:10.3390/toxins11020060.
King, G.F. 2011. Venoms as a platform for human drugs: translating toxins into therapeutics. Expert Opin. Biol. Ther. 11, 1469-1484.
Kowalski, K.; Rychlik, L. 2018. The role of venom in the hunting and hoarding of prey differing in body size by the Eurasian water shrew, Neomys fodiens. J. Mammal. 99, 351–362.
Kowalski, K.; Rychlik, L. 2021. Venom use in eulipotyphlans: An evolutionary and ecological approach. Toxins 13(3), 231.
Kowalski, K.; Marciniak, P.; Rychlik L. 2022. A new, widespread venomous mammal species: hemolytic activity of Sorex araneus
venom is similar to that of Neomys fodiens venom. Zool. Lett. 8, 7.
Ligabue-Braun, R. 2016. Venom use in mammals: Evolutionary aspects. In Evolution of Venomous Animals and Their Toxins, Toxinology; Gopalakrishnakone, P., Malhotra, A., Eds.; Springer Science+Business Media. Dordrecht, Netherlands.
Ligabue-Braun, R.; Carlini, C.R. 2015. Poisonous birds: A timely review. Toxicon 99, 102-108.
Ligabue-Braun, R.; Verli, H.; Carlini, C.R. 2012. Venomous mammals: A review. Toxicon 59, 680-695.
McCue, M. 2006. Cost of producing venom in three North American pitviper species. Copeia 2006, 818-825.
Mebs, D. 2001. Toxicity in animals. Trends in evolution? Toxicon 39, 87-96.
Mebs, D. 2002. Venomous and poisonous animals. Medpharm, Stuttgart.
Morgenstern, D.; King, G.F. 2013. The venom optimization hypothesis revisited. Toxicon 63, 120-128.
Nelsen, D.R.; Nisani, Z.; Cooper, A.M.; Fox, G.A.; Gren, E.C.K.; Corbit, A.G.; Hayes, W.K. 2014. Poisons, toxungens, and venoms: redefining and classifying toxic biological secretions and the organisms that employ them. Biol. Rev. 89, 450-465.
Pintor, A.F.V.; Winter, K.L.; Krockenberger, A.K.; Seymour, J.E. 2011. Venom physiology and composition in a litter of Common Death Adders (Acanthopis antarcticus) and their parents. Toxicon 57, 68-75.
Pucek, M. 1968. Chemistry and pharmacology of insectivore venoms. In Venomous animals and their venoms; Bücherl, W., Buckley, E.E., Deulofeu, V., Eds.; Academic Press, New York, pp. 43-50.
Rode-Margono, J.E.; Nekaris, K.A.I. 2015. Cabinet of curiosities: Venom systems and their ecological function in mammals, with a focus on primates. Toxins 7, 2639-2658.
Saporito, R.A.; Donnelly, M.A.; Spande, T.F.; Garraffo, H.M. 2012. A review of chemical ecology in poison frogs. Chemoecology 22, 159-168.
Sunagar, K.; Morgenstern, D.; Reitzel, A.M.; Moran, Y. 2016. Ecological venomics: How genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics can shed new light on the ecology and evolution of venom. J. Proteom. 135, 62-72.
Yuan, H., Ma, Q., Ye, L., Piao, G. 2016, The traditional medicine and modern medicine from natural products. Molecules 21, 559, doi:10.3390/molecules21050559.
Zhan, X., Wu, H., Wu, H., Wang, R., Luo, C., Gao, B., Chen, Z., Li, Q. 2020. Metabolites from Bufo gargarizans (Cantor, 1842): a review of traditional uses, pharmacological activity, toxicity and quality control. J. Ethnopharmacol. 246, 112178.
Zhang, Y. 2015. Why do we study animal toxins? Zool. Res. 36, 183-222.

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