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ScienceNeveRENDS

Snake Venom Being Researched for Antibiotic Potential

by Jack Barger ‘01

14 | Summer 2018

16 | Summer 2018 FindlayMag | 17

n January of 2016, Justin Rheubert, University of Findlay Instructor of biology, and Dr. Robert Charvat, University of Findlay Assistant professor of biology, had an early morning chat. A very early morning chat.

“I think it was at two, maybe three in the morning,” Rheubert said, “which is when a lot of these discussions happen.” They were talking about something typically scientific—the fact that there was nothing new going on with antimicrobial research for infections. They kicked around a few ideas and Rheubert, a herpetologist focusing on the evolution of amphibians and reptiles, and Charvat, a microbiologist concentrating on parasites, naturally settled on the idea of researching snake venom as a possible antibiotic. The nascent collaboration has been an interesting and productive path ever since.

After their initial conversation, the pair decided to start researching with around eight to 10 students whom they recruited to be involved with them in a journal club. They wanted to find out if certain snake venoms are effective against particular classes of bacteria, and, if so, whether or not a specific family of snakes is more effective than another and why that may be. The idea was to read and discuss anything that had been covered before, find any holes in previous research and decide where they’d hope to see themselves down the road. The group has since whittled down to a couple of “really dedicated students,” according to Rheubert, and with over 500 articles from which they pulled, squeezed, twisted, dissected and extrapolated data, the research is well on its way.

This research into venom is particularly important, Charvat explained, because the world is getting dangerously close to having no real defense against infection.

“Organisms that, at one time, were easily treatable are now posing life-threatening infections because they can’t be

cured,” he said. “We could see ourselves returning to an era where antibiotics didn’t exist, so there’s a real need to discover and develop new compounds, wherever they come from, to target resistant bacteria.” Snake venom, the two decided, was a logical place to start, because of the presence of antibacterial molecules held within it. “Our ultimate goal is to eventually develop some sort of antibiotic out of the venom that can be used in the medicinal world,” Rheubert added.

While snake venom is certainly effective at killing certain classes of bacteria, if it kills the person who ingests it, as well, what use does it have? That’s where snakes like the Heterodon nasicus—better known to non-biology types as the Western Hognose because of its upturned snout—came into the picture. The research group works with these snakes in the lab at UF, because their salivary secretion, while similar in composition to more deadly snakes like cobras and rattlesnakes, is only toxic to its prey, mainly frogs. “It’s missing that certain ‘umph’ that makes it as deadly [to humans] as those other species,” Rheubert said. “So, the question we’re trying to answer,” he explained further “is, can we take a toxin that has no adverse health effects on humans and potentially use it as an antibiotic because it has similar components of the more dangerous snakes?” The group’s short-term goal is to test this species for effectiveness in this area and, if their predictions are correct, to expand into other snake species.

They’re currently working with a statistician who is doing modeling work—taking venom composition and inputting it into a model selection that predicts its effectiveness—that leads to them being able to take any snake venom and its protein breakdown and make a prediction of effectiveness or ineffectiveness. This moves toward a better functional understanding of why some venoms are better than others.

The research is seeing positive results, but the two say that there is another, very important purpose for the work they’re doing. “We want students to reap the benefits of this research, as well,” Charvat said. Rheubert expanded, saying that the students are being involved in the entire scientific process the research covers. “We involve students from ground zero through research, fieldwork, creating manuscripts to writing grants,” he said. “They’re getting positive input from experts who are controlling massive amounts of grant money.” Their hope is not only that the students learn the ins and outs of research, but that they can better understand what goes into the scientific approach to making the world a better place and carrying that forward to any further research they might end up involved in. They mentioned multiple students going to the National Conference of Undergraduate Research and others serving as co-authors on papers, including a few that are currently under review. Charvat and Rheubert said that the students get so involved in the research that they can often be found in the labs at three or four in the morning working right alongside their mentors. With that kind of commitment, it’s evident that the time being spent is beneficial to the biologists, the students, and the people that will likely see its benefits in the years to come.

It all clearly points toward a labor of love for everyone involved. “It’s not like coming to work,” Rheubert said. “It’s not [for any of us] ‘I have to go to work.’ It’s more like ‘I get to go to work.’” This sort of dedication is rewarding for the two, as it will inevitably help them to move closer to a larger objective, one in the name of a greater good for mankind.

“It seems like a lofty, maybe even a cliché goal, but we want to save the world,” Charvat said. And they don’t see any point at which they would stop short of that goal for any reason. “We’ll just keep going,” Rheubert said. “Science never ends.”

“So, the question we’re trying to answer is, can we take a toxin that has no

adverse health effects on humans and

potentially use it as an antibiotic

because it has similar components of the

more dangerous snakes?”-Justin Rheubert

Science NEVER ENDS

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