AMPHIBIAN TOXINOLOGY

Many amphibians have specialized skin glands that secrete bioactive peptides and proteins to protect them against pathogens and predators. Despite years of pharmacological research, many biological aspects of these defense toxins remain unknown. How does a new toxin evolve in an amphibian’s skin? How are toxic proteins delivered to a predator’s body before the amphibian dies? And how is it possible that distantly related species have very similar toxins? Using various techniques and experiments, we try to find answers to fundamental ecological, physiological and evolutionary questions related to amphibian poisons. Besides improving our understanding of amphibian biology, these answers may lead to the development of new drugs.

Selected publications

Matthijs, S., Ye, L., Stijlemans, B., Cornelis, P., Bossuyt, F. & K. Roelants, 2014 - Low Structural Variation in the Host-Defense Peptide Repertoire of the Dwarf Clawed Frog Hymenochirus boettgeri (Pipidae).

PLoS ONE 9 (1) : e86339.

Fry, B., Undheim, E., Ali, S., Jackson, T., Debono, J., Scheib, H., Ruder, T., Morgenstern, D., Cadwallader, L. Whitehead, D., Nabuurs, R., van der Weerd, L., Vidal, N., Roelants, K., Hendrikx, I., Gonzalez, S.P., Koludarov, I., Jones, A., King, G.F., Antunes, A.  & K. Sunagar, 2013 - Squeezers and leaf-cutters: differential diversification and degeneration of the venom system in toxicoferan reptiles.

Molecular and Cellular Proteomics 12: 1881-1899.

Roelants, K., Fry, B.G., Ye, L., Stijlemans, B., Brys, L., Kok, P., Clynen, E., Schoofs, L., Cornelis, P. & F. Bossuyt, 2013 - Origin and functional diversification of an amphibian defense peptide arsenal.

PLoS Genetics 9(8): e1003662. - pdf

Roelants, K., Fry, B.G., Norman, J.A.,  Clynen, E., Schoofs, L. & F. Bossuyt, 2010 - Identical Skin Toxins by Convergent Molecular Adaptation in Frogs.

Current Biology 20: 125-130.

Fry, B., Wroe, S. Teeuwisse, W., Van Osch, M., Moreno, K., ..., Roelants, K., ... & J.A. Norman, 2009. A central role for venom in predation by Varanus komodoensis (Komodo Dragon) and the extinct giant Varanus (Megalania) priscus.

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 106 (22): 8969–8974.