Replies to Fry et al. (Toxicon 2012, 60/4, 434-448). Part B. Properties and biological roles of squamate oral products: The 'venomous lifestyle' and preadaptation

摘要

The toxinology of snake oral secretions has been largely concerned with the chemical and pharmacological characterization of the secretions and relevance to possible medical significance. Less attention has been paid to the relevance of these chemical characters and the contribution or not they may make to the success of the snake in the wild. The absence of such information has made it difficult for functional and evolutionary biologists to transfer this chemical pharmacology per se to understanding the adaptive value, if any, of the biochemical properties alone. The importance of doing so was emphasized long ago, with the important distinction made between a trait or property of an organism and the biological role of that trait (Bock, 1980). As this relates to snake oral secretions, we should distinguish between the properties and biological roles of components in these oral secretions.