1Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, campus de São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil (present address)
2 Laboratório Especial de Toxinologia Aplicada, Center of Toxins, Immune-Response and Cell Signaling (CeTICS), Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil
The study of snake venom proteomes (venomics) has been experiencing a burst of reports, however the comprehensive knowledge of the dynamic range of proteins present within a single venom, the set of post-translational modifications (PTMs) as well as the lack of a comprehensive database related to venom proteins are among the main challenges in venomics research. The phenotypic plasticity in snake venom proteomes together with their inherent toxin proteoform diversity, points out to the use integrative analysis in order to better understand their actual complexity. In this regard, such a systems venomics task should encompass the integration of data from transcriptomic and proteomic studies (specially the venom gland proteome), the identification of biological PTMs, and the estimation of artifactual proteomes and peptidomes generated by sample handling procedures. The recent recognition of snake envenoming as a neglected tropical disease denotes the significance of systemic studies in toxinology. Thus, the knowledge of structural and functional snake venom proteomes can serve as basis for anti-venom improvement, one of the main challenges in developing countries.