Why Don't Snakes Poison Themselves?

2024-09-24

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Many animal species stuff themselves with toxic chemicals for protection, which forces them to use a handful of distinct strategies to avoid becoming victims of their own weapons.

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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:

- Antibody: a blood protein produced in response to and counteracting a specific antigen. Antibodies combine chemically with substances which the body recognizes as alien, such as bacteria, viruses, and foreign substances in the blood.

- Globulin: any of a group of simple proteins soluble in salt solutions and forming a large fraction of blood serum protein.

- Poison: a substance that is capable of causing the illness or death of a living organism when introduced or absorbed.

- Venom: a poisonous substance secreted by animals such as snakes, spiders, and scorpions and typically injected into prey or aggressors by biting or stinging.

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REFERENCES

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Abderemane-Ali, Fayal, et al. “Evidence That Toxin Resistance in Poison Birds and Frogs Is Not Rooted in Sodium Channel Mutations and May Rely on “Toxin Sponge” Proteins.” Journal of General Physiology, vol. 153, no. 9, 5 Aug. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1085/jgp.202112872

Kinkawa, Kohshi, et al. “Up-Regulation of the Expressions of Phospholipase A2 Inhibitors in the Liver of a Venomous Snake by Its Own Venom Phospholipase A2.” Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, vol. 395, no. 3, May 2010, pp. 377–381, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2010.04.024

Mackessy, Stephen P., and Louise M. Baxter. “Bioweapons Synthesis and Storage: The Venom Gland of Front-Fanged Snakes.” Zoologischer Anzeiger - a Journal of Comparative Zoology, vol. 245, no. 3, 24 Nov. 2006, pp. 147–159, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0044523106000416, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcz.2006.01.003

Nekaris, K Anne-Isola, et al. “Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know: The Biochemistry, Ecology and Evolution of Slow Loris Venom.” Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins Including Tropical Diseases, vol. 19, no. 1, 2013, p. 21, https://doi.org/10.1186/1678-9199-19-21

Resiere, Dabor, et al. “Bothrops Lanceolatus Bites: Guidelines for Severity Assessment and Emergent Management.” Toxins, vol. 2, no. 1, 22 Jan. 2010, pp. 163–173, https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins2010163. Accessed 14 Mar. 2023.

Takacs, Zoltan, et al. “Snake α-Neurotoxin Binding Site on the Egyptian Cobra (Naja Haje) Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Is Conserved.” Molecular Biology and Evolution, vol. 18, no. 9, 1 Sept. 2001, pp. 1800–1809, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a003967

Tarvin, Rebecca D., et al. “Interacting Amino Acid Replacements Allow Poison Frogs to Evolve Epibatidine Resistance.” Science, vol. 357, no. 6357, 22 Sept. 2017, pp. 1261–1266, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aan5061