The city of Melbourne will be home to Australia’s first “venom library.” The Victorian Venom Bank, a collaboration between the state government, Melbourne University, and the Arthur Rylah Institute, will be established at the Victoria Museum in the city, and will hold the venom of some of the world’s most deadly creatures.
Over the past six months, researchers have collected 12 snakes and milked them of their venom. The snakes, which belong to the tiger snake lineage,? have since been stored in a fluid preservative. Their venom will be used by researchers to develop anti-venoms and new medications based on the medicinal properties of the venom. Biologists also hope to study the venom to further understand the relationships between different species.
The venom library intends to progressively add more species, such as the blue-ringed octopus, spiders, scorpions, platypus, and other snake species. It will be the first facility in Australia to have a dedicated storage of venom as well as full tissue samples of the animal from which the poison has been extracted.
Nick Clemann, senior scientist at the Arthur Rylah Institute, said that the tiger snakes were chosen to start the venom library because they are quite common in Southern Australia and occasionally come into conflict with and bite people. Clemann says that the tiger snakes are just the beginning though, explaining:
?Ultimately the sky’s the limit, we could have jellyfish or bees or scorpions…There are other places that produce venom, such as the zoos and reptile parks, but they don’t have preserved snakes or storage facilities. This will be a unique, curated collection that we haven’t had before. We will use this for the betterment of society but there will also be benefit for biodiversity as we’ll use it to better understand the relationships between species.?
Ken Winkel, investigator at the Australian Venom Research Unit, adds that the venom will help researchers better understand how anti-venom works, and how to make it more effective. Said Winkel:
?In particular, little research has focused on the variation in toxins found in the various tiger type snakes that we treat with tiger snake antivenom. This project will begin by focusing on these types of snakes and their venom variation.?
With benefits for both humans and the animals, the venom library will surely have a lasting, positive impact on the lives of every creature within Australia.
