Chemistry Student Seminar: Exploring snake venom proteins using mass spectrometry

Presenter

Ruth Wang - Master of Philosophy (Chemistry)

Abstract

Snake venoms are complex cocktails of biologically active proteins and peptides. The proteomic complexity and variability along with the specificity and potency of these venom proteins render them highly intriguing from ecological and pharmacological perspectives, respectively.

However, the tremendous knowledge gap in fundamental proteomic and higher-order structural understanding of snake venom proteins poses a significant roadblock towards successful applications, particularly given the lack of robust techniques for visualising dynamic higher-order protein interactions that are critical for synergistic potency and specificity.

Here, we are using an approach that integrates proteomic and native mass spectrometric techniques to characterise a repertoire of medically significant snake venoms at different structural levels for the first time.

We demonstrate the applicability of shotgun proteomics and ion mobility-mass spectrometry as powerful characterisation tools which can help answer key questions in venom adaptation as well as bridge the knowledge gap between fundamental structural understanding and potential therapeutic applications.