Toxins are substances produced from biological sources (e.g., animal, plants, microorganisms) that have deleterious effects on a living organism. Despite the obvious health concerns of being exposed to toxins, they are having substantial positive impacts in a number of industrial sectors. Several toxin-derived products are approved for clinical, veterinary, or agrochemical uses. This review sets out the case for toxins as 'friends' that are providing the basis of novel medicines, insecticides, and even nucleic acid sequencing technologies. We also discuss emerging toxins ('foes') that are becoming increasingly prevalent in a range of contexts through climate change and the globalisation of food supply chains and that ultimately pose a risk to health.
1.Def Sci & Technol Lab, DSTL Porton Down, CBR Div, Salisbury SP4 0JQ, Wilts, England 2.Univ Liverpool Liverpool Sch Trop Med, Ctr Snakebite Res & Intervent, Pembroke Pl, Liverpool L3 5QA, Merseyside, England 3.Queens Univ, Inst Global Food Secur, Sch Biol Sci, 97 Lisburn Rd, Belfast BT9 7BL, Antrim, North Ireland 4.Univ Strathclyde, Strathclyde Inst Pharm & Biomed Sci, 161 Cathedral St, Glasgow G4 0RE, Lanark, Scotland 5.Univ Glasgow, Sch Chem, Joseph Black Bldg, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Lanark, Scotland 6.Sheffield Hallam Univ, Biomol Res Ctr, Dept Biosci & Chem, Sheffield S1 1WB, S Yorkshire, England 7.Cefas, Food Safety Grp, Barrack Rd, Weymouth DT4 8UB, Dorset, England
Recommended Citation:
Clark, Graeme C.,Casewell, Nicholas R.,Elliott, Christopher T.,et al. Friends or Foes? Emerging Impacts of Biological Toxins[J]. TRENDS IN BIOCHEMICAL SCIENCES,2019-01-01,44(4):365-379