With more information on the presence and diversity of venom-associated microbiomes ( Table 1), future research efforts can focus on how microbes colonize and thrive in venom glands as a starting point for integrating these fields ( McFall-Ngai, 2014, Nunes-Alves, 2015). Researchers in the fields of both venomics and microbiology share common interests in natural products ( Katz and Baltz, 2016, Robinson et al., 2017) and adaptive evolution ( Phuong et al., 2016, Hird, 2017). (c) Roughly 57% of the surveyed studies focus on snake venom, and the remaining studies are largely from arthropods. After removing these articles, investigation of the remaining 126 show (b) approximately 71% focus on venom toxins exhibiting antimicrobial properties with only about 11% focused on venom-microbe interactions. (a) Most articles are either bacteria- or virus-specific, and a subset (16 articles) are not related to studies involving microbes. A breakdown of 140 resultant articles from searching Web of Science for venom-microbe studies. Word clouds representative of Supplemental Table 1 content. We thus propose viewing venom as a microenvironment that occupies a unique niche in which microbes may adapt as a critical perspective for investigating the dynamics of venom-microbe interactions. Providing ecological and evolutionary context has enhanced both microbiology ( Boughner and Singh, 2016, Hird, 2017) and venomics ( Prashanth et al., 2016, Sunagar et al., 2016, Calvete, 2017). Over the past 15 years, microbiome research has yielded breakthroughs in our knowledge of unculturable microbial “dark matter” ( Bernard et al., 2018), the origins of life ( Spang et al., 2017), and human health ( Arnold et al., 2016, Clavel et al., 2016). The integration of genomics ( Moran and Gurevitz, 2006), transcriptomics ( Pahari et al., 2007), and proteomics ( Fry, 2005) into the study of venom has contributed to new toxin discovery and associated biological activity ( Oldrati et al., 2016, Calvete, 2017). While scientific research in toxinology and microbiology has persisted for centuries, a cursory search of the literature reveals less than 150 studies overlap between these two fields despite each significantly advancing as a result of next generation sequencing technology ( Fig. 1, Supplemental Table 1, Supplemental Code). We express commitment to the diversity, inclusion and scientific collaboration among researchers interested in this emerging subdiscipline through expansion of the iVAMP consortium. We present an evidence-based argument for integrating microbiology as part of venomics (i.e., venom-microbiomics) and introduce iVAMP, the Initiative for Venom Associated Microbes and Parasites ( ), as a growing collaborative consortium. The considerable number of convergently evolved venomous animals, juxtaposed with the comparatively few known studies to identify microbial communities in venom, provides new possibilities for both biodiversity and therapeutic discoveries. We highlight the potential for the discovery of venom microbiomes within the adaptive landscape of venom systems. Venom-centric microbiome studies are relatively sparse to date with the adaptive advantages that venom-associated microbes might offer to their hosts, or that hosts might provide to venom-associated microbes, remaining largely unknown. Culture-dependent and -independent studies on the microbial communities in venom microenvironments reveal the presence of archaea, algae, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses. The substantial, increasing number of these discoveries have unintentionally culminated in the misconception that venom and venom-producing glands are largely sterile environments.
Venom is a known source of novel antimicrobial natural products.
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