Dear Colleagues,

Venomous marine organisms such as anemones, worms, fishes, corals, cone snails or snakes produce complex bioactive secretions in specialized glands and delivered through diverse anatomical structures that are used to subdue their preys or deter predators. These animal venoms have evolved through millions of years of natural selection, in a co-evolutionary process involving the prey and the predator, often referred to as an “arms race”. As such, they are extremely efficient and usually effective at a very low concentration via highly specific interactions with key physiological targets (ion channels, enzymes, and membrane components). The potency, specificity, and speed with which venom molecules interact with their molecular targets make them ideal candidates for therapeutic and biotechnological developments. Among the venom-derived drugs that are currently approved or in trial for human use, a major breakthrough from marine organisms includes the Ziconotide from a cone snail toxin, which has caused a paradigm shift in analgesic drug development, and the Dalazatide from a sea anemone toxin used to treat autoimmune diseases. However, the marine realm is still an underexplored environment, hosting a high number of venomous species that have been overlooked to date with respect to the composition and variability of their venom, and which could provide novel drug leads. In this Special Issue, we welcome any investigations of marine venomous creatures that employ transcriptomic and proteomic approaches.

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• transcriptomics
• proteomics
• venom
• pharmacology
• toxin