Plant Toxins

Biotechnological Potential of Ribosome Inactivating Proteins (RIPs).- Cyanotoxins Cyclotides: Plant Defense Toxins.- Entomotoxic Plant Proteins: Molecules to Develop Genetically Modified Plants Potentially Resistant to Insect-Pests.- General Mechanisms of Plant Defense.- Locoweeds and Swainsonine.- Moonlighting Toxins: Ureases and Beyond.- Oleander Poisoning.- Phycotoxins Other Than Cyanotoxins.- Plant AB Toxins with Lectin Domains.- Plant Alkaloids: Main Features, Toxicity, and Mechanisms of Action.- Plant and Fungal Hallucinogens as Toxic and Therapeutic Agents.- Plant Compounds with Antiophidic Activities, Their Discovery History, and Current and Proposed Applications.- Plant Cyanogenic Glycosides.- Plant Toxins as Sources of Drugs.- Plants Toxic to Farm and Companion Animals.- Proteinaceous Plant Toxins with Antimicrobial and Antitumor Activities Ribosome-Inactivating Proteins: An Overview.- Suicidal Plant Poisoning.- The Role of Metal-Based Defenses in Plants.- Toxic butExploitable Actions of Ribosome-Inactivating Proteins.- Toxic Chemicals from Invasive Alien Plants.- Toxic Nonprotein Amino Acids.

Prof P. Gopalakrishnakone is a world leader in the characterization of the structure and function of animal and plant toxins and chemical poisons, which contain highly specific and biologically active components. He has contributed significantly to the body of knowledge regarding the anatomy of snake venom glands and the development of drug candidates from animal toxins.

Prof Gopal pioneered the development of the NUS Venom and Toxin Research Programme, which has put NUS at the forefront of toxin research internationally. The technology platform that has been built over the years under the Venom and Toxin Research Programme, coupled with its extensive library of protein and peptides, has enabled Prof Gopal and his team to complete the discovery process of lead candidates in time and to transfer valuable supplementary information to the next discovery steps involving profiling and optimization of lead candidates. The objective is to characterize the venom components and natural toxins at a molecular level and identify promising compounds amenable to the development of novel human therapeutics. Prof Gopal's lab has identified over twenty peptides with unique medical indications from venom-based proteins with some already under development as therapeutics.

Prof Gopal's research studies includes structure function studies (toxin detection, biosensors, antitoxins and neutralization factors), toxicogenomics and expression studies, antimicrobial peptides from venoms and toxins and PLA2 inhibitors as potential drug candidate for inflammatory diseases. The techniques he employs include quantum dots to toxinology, computational biology, microarrays and protein chips. He has patented analgesic peptide, anti inflammatory peptide as well as anti rheumatoid arthritis peptides. He is exploring various possibilities of delivery systems for these peptides to target sites and administration of these peptides orally, transdermally, ocular and injections.

Prof Gopal has over