​

Venom is a complex mixture of biomolecules secreted by specialized glands or cells in venomous animals. Actively delivered to targets, venom enables prey capture and defense against predators. It has contributed to the evolutionary success of numerous animal lineages and has independently evolved more than 100 times. In our lab, we use venomous animals and their venoms as model systems to investigate broad questions in genetics, ecology, and evolution. Below, we outline our major research directions.

​

Antiquated antivenoms

In India, snakebite causes over 58,000 deaths annually, and four times as many survivors live with permanent disabilities, including amputations. Most victims are farmers and laborers in rural regions—the primary earners for their families—so snakebite inflicts profound social and economic harm.

​

Conventional antivenoms are produced by immunizing equines with snake venoms and harvesting the resulting antibodies. Our research shows that venom composition and potency vary dramatically across species, among populations of the same species, and even among individuals within a single locality. Indian antivenoms are still manufactured using venoms from a single southern population (Tamil Nadu) and target only the “big four” species, leaving many medically important snakes without specific treatment. As a result, current products often fail to neutralize the remarkable diversity of Indian snake venoms. India urgently needs more effective, geographically informed snakebite therapies to protect lives, limbs, and livelihoods.

​

• Senji Laxme RR, Khochare S, DeSouza HF, Ahuja B, Suranse V, Martin G, Whitaker R and Sunagar K. 2019. Beyond the ‘big four’: Venom profiling of the medically important yet neglected Indian snakes reveals disturbing antivenom deficiencies. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

​

• U Rashmi, Bhatia S, Nayak M, Khochare S, and Sunagar K. 2024. Elusive elapid: Biogeographic venom variation in Indian kraits and its repercussion on snakebite therapy. Frontiers in Pharmacology.

​

• Anurag Jaglan, Siddharth Bhatia, Gerard Martin, Kartik Sunagar. The Royal Armoury: Venomics and antivenomics of king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) from the Indian Western Ghats. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules.​​

​

• Senji Laxme RR, Attarde S, Khochare S, Suranse V, Martin G, Casewell NRC, Whitaker R, and Sunagar K. 2021. Biogeographical venom variation in the Indian spectacled cobra (Naja naja) underscores the pressing need for pan-India efficacious snakebite therapy. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

 

• Senji Laxme RR, Attarde S, Khochare S, Suranse V, Iyer A, Martin G, Casewell NRC, Whitaker R, and Sunagar K. 2021. Biogeographic venom variation in Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii) and the preclinical inefficacy of antivenom therapy in snakebite hotspots. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

​

• Rashmi U, Khochare S, Attarde S, Senji Laxme RR, Suranse V, Martin G, and Sunagar K. 2021. Remarkable intrapopulation venom variability in the monocellate cobra (Naja kaouthia) unveils neglected aspects of India's snakebite problem. Journal of Proteomics.

​

• Attarde S, Khochare S, Iyer A, Dam P, Martin G, and Sunagar K. Venomics of the enigmatic Andaman cobra (N. sagittifera) and the preclinical failure of Indian antivenoms in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Frontiers in Pharmacology.​

​

Discovery and expression of recombinant antivenoms

With support from national and international agencies and partners such as the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (USA) and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (UK), we are discovering and expressing broadly neutralizing recombinant antibodies. These antibodies are sourced from animals (e.g., rabbits, camels, cows, baboons, horses) immunized with snake venoms from India and sub‑Saharan Africa. Cutting‑edge B‑cell sorting, venom toxin synthesis, and antibody engineering power these efforts.​

​

• Irene S Khalek*, RR Senji Laxme*, Yen Thi Kim Nguyen*, Suyog Khochare, Rohit N Patel, Jordan Woehl, Jessica M Smith, Karen Saye-Francisco, Yoojin Kim, Laetitia Misson Mindrebo, Quoc Tran, Mateusz Kędzior, Evy Boré, Oliver Limbo, Megan Verma, Robyn L Stanfield, Stefanie K Menzies, Stuart Ainsworth, Robert A Harrison, Dennis R Burton, Devin Sok, Ian A Wilson, Nicholas R Casewell, Kartik Sunagar, Joseph G Jardine. Synthetic development of a broadly neutralizing antibody against snake venom long-chain α-neurotoxins. Science Translational Medicine.

​

• Casewell NRC, Jackson TMW, Laustsen A, and Sunagar K. 2020. Causes and consequences of medically important snake venom variation. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences.

​

Enhancing the efficacy of conventional antivenoms

Antivenom manufacturing has changed little in over a century. We collaborate with leading Indian producers—including Serum Institute of India, Premium Serums, VINS Biopharma, and Bharat Serums—to modernize workflows and improve the immediate effectiveness of existing antivenoms.​

​

• Attarde S, Iyer A, Khochare S, Shaligram U, Vikharankar M, and Sunagar K. The preclinical evaluation of a second-generation antivenom for treating snake envenoming in India. Toxins.

​

• Khochare S*, Jaglan A*, Rashmi U, Dam P, and Sunagar K. 2024. Harnessing the Cross-Neutralisation Potential of Existing Antivenoms for Mitigating the Outcomes of Snakebite in Sub-Saharan Africa. International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

​

• Kaur N, Iyer A, and Sunagar K. 2021. Evolution bites: Timeworn inefficacious snakebite therapy in the era of recombinant vaccines. Indian Pediatrics.

​

Evolutionary ecology of venoms

Venom evolution is tightly linked to an animal’s ecology and environment, yet this relationship remains largely unexplored in the Indian subcontinent. We investigate how ecological drivers shape venom composition, biochemical activity, potency, and evolutionary trajectories across snakes, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, and other enigmatic lineages.​

• From Birth to Bite: The Evolutionary Ecology of India's Medically Most Important Snake Venoms. BMC Biology.

​

• Sarangi N, Senji Laxme R. R. and Sunagar K. 2025. Significant Serpents: Predictive Modelling of Bioclimatic Venom Variation in Russell’s Viper. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

​

• Sunagar K, Khochare S, Senji Laxme RR, Attarde S, Dam P, Suranse V, Khaire A, Martin G, and Captain A. 2021. A wolf in another wolf’s clothing: Post-genomic regulation dictates venom profiles of medically-important cryptic kraits in India. Toxins.

​

• Suranse V, Iyer A, Jackson TNW, and Sunagar K@. 2022. Origin and Early Diversification of the Enigmatic Squamate Venom Cocktail. A Contribution to the Origin and Early Evolution of Snakes (D. Gower and H. Zaher Ed.). Systematics Association Special Volume Series. Cambridge University Press.

​

Population genetics, phylogenetics, and phylogeography of venomous animals
India’s diverse landscapes harbor rich venomous biodiversity that is understudied within a molecular phylogenetic framework. Comprehensive analyses can reveal undescribed species and clarify evolutionary relationships and distribution patterns. We apply population genetics to assess population integrity and viability, understand local adaptation and genetic structure, and inform conservation strategies and evidence‑based policy.

​

Molecular evolution of venom

We study the origins of venom and the molecular mechanisms driving its diversification. Using experimental and computational approaches—including genomics and evolutionary analyses—we examine how non‑toxic physiological proteins become weaponized into some of the world’s most potent toxins.

​

• Shaikh Y and Sunagar K. The deep-rooted origin of disulfide-rich spider venom toxins. eLife.

​

• Suranse V, Jackson T. N. W., and Sunagar K. Contextual constraints: dynamic evolution of snake venom phospholipase A2. Toxins.

​

• Sunagar K and Moran Y. The Rise and Fall of an Evolutionary Innovation: Contrasting Strategies of Venom Evolution in Ancient and Young Animals. PLoS Genetics. 

​

• Herzig V*, Sunagar K*, Wilson DR, Pineda SS, Israel MR, Duterte S, McFarland BS,  Undheim EAB, Hodgson WC, Alewood PF, Lewis RJ, Bosmans F, Vetter I, King GF, and Fry BG. 2020. Australian funnel-web spiders evolved human-lethal δ-hexatoxins for defense against vertebrate predators. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

 

• Sunagar K, Jackson TNW, Undheim EAB, Ali S, Antunes A, and Fry BG. 2013. Three-fingered RAVERs: Rapid Accumulation of Variations in Exposed Residues of snake venom toxins. Toxins.

​