Beyond Venom and Constriction: Bite Performance and Trophic Ecology in the Genus Drymarchon

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  Beyond Venom and Constriction: Bite Performance and Trophic Ecology in the Genus Drymarchon Abstract Snakes exhibit extreme cranial kinesis that facilitates ingestion of prey with large cross-sectional area, but this ability is widely predicted to reduce bite performance due to decreased structural rigidity. Consequently, most large-bodied snakes rely on envenomation or constriction to subdue prey prior to ingestion. Species within the genus Drymarchon represent a notable exception: these large, non-venomous, non-constricting snakes routinely consume a wide range of prey, including large and potentially dangerous vertebrates, using only simple seizing and pinioning behaviors. Here, we quantify bite performance in three species of Drymarchon ( D. corais, D. couperi, and D. melanurus ), examine morphological predictors of biting performance, compare biting pressure to constriction pressure in similarly sized snakes, and synthesize dietary records across the genus. Our results sh...

A Structure-Informed Atlas of Venom-Derived Peptides Reveals the Organization of Chemical Space

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A Structure-Informed Atlas of Venom-Derived Peptides Reveals the Organization of Chemical Space

Abstract

Venom-derived peptides are structurally diverse bioactive scaffolds with growing relevance for computational discovery and molecular design. However, their organization within chemical space remains poorly characterized in integrated frameworks. Here, we present a curated, structure-informed venom peptide atlas supported by an integrated descriptor-based framework combining sequence- and structure-derived features across 3,423 peptides. High-confidence AlphaFold models were integrated with physicochemical and structural descriptors to generate a unified molecular representation. Multivariate analyses reveal that venom peptides occupy constrained and interpretable regions of chemical space shaped by disulfide-mediated stabilization, structural compactness, and electrostatic–hydrophobic balance. Functional classes show clear separation, whereas taxonomic origin explains less variance, supporting convergent design principles. This atlas provides a reference resource for comparative analyses, scaffold prioritization, and hypothesis generation in peptide science.

Gonçalves, T. C., Toral Cortez, E. H., & Amaral, D. T. (2026). A Structure-Informed Atlas of Venom-Derived Peptides Reveals the Organization of Chemical Space. Molecular Informatics, 45(5), e70039. https://doi.org/10.1002/minf.70039