Introduction
36
Venomous snakes can broadly be divided into front-fanged (Elapidae, Viperidae and 37
Atractaspididae) and non-front-fanged (Ahaetuliinae, Calamariidae, Colubrinae, Dipsadidae, 38
Grayiidae, Natricidae, Pseudoxenodontidae, Sibynophis, and Scaphiodontophis) species 39
(Figueroa et al., 2016; Pyron et al., 2013; Zaher et al., 2019). Front-fanged snakes are the most 40
medically important snakes, possessing enlarged, hollow maxillary teeth (fangs) and a venom 41
gland with an internal reservoir for venom storage (Mackessy, 2022). However, non-front-42
fanged snakes are more diverse and widespread, comprising approximately 70% of all extant 43
snake species (Mackessy and Saviola, 2016). 44
Non-front-fanged snakes possess enlarged or grooved solid rear maxillary teeth and a 45
Duvernoy’s venom gland (Mackessy, 2022). Superficially similar to the venom gland of front 46
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted March 31, 2026. ; https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.27.714740doi: bioRxiv preprint
3
fanged snakes, the Duvernoy’s venom gland is also located in the temporal region of the upper 47
jaw. However, lacking an internal reservoir, venom is stored intracellularly and exocytosed into 48
secretory tubules that flow into luminal ducts. Unlike the venom glands of front-fanged snakes, 49
the Duvernoy’s venom gland is usually not surrounded by musculature that pressurise the 50
gland, and venom is more slowly secreted around the base of the fang during prolonged biting 51
(Kardong and Lavin-Murcio, 1993). 52
Understanding snake venom production, function and composition has mostly been focussed 53
on front-fanged snakes. In line with this, organoids – self-organising 3D structures that grow 54
from stem cells and produce organ-specific cell types through lineage differentiation (Clevers, 55
2016) – have previously been established from the venom glands of Elapidae and Viperidae. 56
Snake venom gland organoids have been shown to recapitulate the venom gland through the 57
production of functionally active toxins (Post et al., 2020). Here, we have established 58
Duvernoy’s venom glands organoids from a non-front-fanged snake, Boiga dendrophila, and 59
compare these organoids to those from Bitis arietans (Viperidae) venom gland. B. dendrophila, 60
commonly known as the Mangrove Catsnake, is a large non-front fanged snake that is 61
widespread across southeast Asia. B. dendrophila venom is primarily composed of prey-62
specific three-finger toxins (3FTxs) (Dashevsky et al., 2018; Mackessy and Saviola, 2016; 63
Modahl and Mackessy, 2019), such as Boigatoxin-A (Lumsden et al., 2005) and Denmotoxin B 64
(Pawlak et al., 2006). This new organoid model represents an excellent opportunity to study the 65
evolution of venom systems, venom production and further characterise venom glands and 66
toxins from rear-fanged snakes. 67
Materials and methods
68
Venom gland tissue and venom 69
Bitis arietans venom was sourced from the on -site herpetarium at the Liverpool School of 70
Tropical Medicine (LSTM). The facility and its protocols for the husbandry of snakes are approved 71
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted March 31, 2026. ; https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.27.714740doi: bioRxiv preprint
4
by the UK Home Office and the LSTM Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Boards. Boiga 72
dendrophila venom was kindly donated by Stephen Mackessy, University of Col orado. Boiga 73
venom was collected following an IACUC approved protocol (0902E-SM-MBirdsL-12) as detailed 74
by Hill & Mackessy with the use of 30 µg/g ketamine and 6.0 µg/g pilocarpine (Hill and Mackessy, 75
1997). All venoms were collected either prior to or in accordance with the Nagoya protocol. 76
Snake venom glands used in this study , specifically Bitis arietans (captive-bred and Nigerian 77
locality; n=2) and Boiga dendrophila (captive-bred, n=2), came from snakes in the LSTM 78
herpetarium. Snakes were euthanised by overdose of anaesthesia and cervical dislocation. 79
Snake venom glands were dissected out as described in Puschhof et al. (Puschhof et al., 2021). 80
Snake venom gland organoids from Naja haje (captive-bred) were supplied by Jens Puschhof and 81
Yorick Post, Hubrecht Institute 82
Organoid establishment 83
Organoids were setup using methods similar to those detailed in Puschhof et al. (2021). In brief, 84
venom glands were either dissected from freshly euthanized snakes or collected from tissue 85
stored in liquid nitrogen in 90% (v/v) fetal bovine serum , 10% (v/v) DMSO. Under sterile 86
conditions, connective tissue was removed and gland cut into small pieces. Tissue was treated 87
using am antibiotic cocktail media (DMEM, 50 µg/ml gentamicin, 2.5 µg/ml ciprofloxacin, 20 µM 88
erythromycin, 10 nM azithromycin dehydrate, 100 µg/ml primocin) and digested using 89
collagenase media solution (Advanced DMEM, 1 mg/ml collagenase, 10 µM Y-27632) at 32 °C, 90
5% CO2 for up to 1 h. Digested structures were plated at a density of approximately 100 per 15 µl 91
in Cultrex basement membrane extract growth factor reduced type 2 (R&D Systems, 3533-001-92
02) and overlayed with expansion media ( Advanced DMEM, 1x GlutaMAX, 1x HEPES, 100 U/ml 93
penicillin-streptomycin, 100 µg/ml Primocin, 1.25 mM N-acetyl-L-cysteine, 1x B27 supplement, 94
10 mM nicotinamide, 1 µM prostaglandin E2, 2% (v/v) Noggin-conditioned media (IPA 95
Therapeutics N002), 2% (v/v) R-spondin-conditioned media (IPA Therapeutics R002), 50 ng/ml 96
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted March 31, 2026. ; https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.27.714740doi: bioRxiv preprint
5
human epidermal growth factor, 0.5 µM A83 -91, 10 nM human gastrin-1, 100 ng/ml human 97
fibroblast growth factor -10) containing 10 µM Y -27632, 50 µg/ml gentamicin, 2.5 µg/ml 98
ciprofloxacin, 20 µM erythromycin and 10 nM azithromycin dehydrate. Expansion media was 99
changed every other day, and organoids were passaged by mechanical dissociation with a 27G 100
needle after 7 to 14 days. 101
Organoid differentiation and lysate harvest 102
Organoids were passaged at least once prior to differentiation. Organoids were grown in 103
expansion medium for 3 days then overlayed with differentiation medium (advanced DMEM, 1x 104
GlutaMAX, 1x HEPES, 100 U/ml penicillin-streptomycin, 100 µg/ml Primocin, 1.25 mM N-acetyl-105
L-cysteine, 1x B27 supplement, 10 mM nicotinamide, 1 µM prostaglandin E2) for 7 days with 106
media changed every other day. Organoid lysates were then harvested by sonication for 10s and 107
protein concentration measured by the Qubit Protein Assay (Thermofisher Scientific) following 108
manufactures instructions. 109
Organoid staining 110
Organoids were harvested with Cultrex Organoid Harvesting Solution (R&D Systems, 3700-100-111
01). Active caspase-3 activity was determined using CellEvent Caspase-3/7 Gren detection 112
reagent (Thermofisher Scientific, C10423). Organoids for hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and 113
periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining were resuspended in HistoGel (Fisher Scientific, 12006679) 114
and staining outsourced to Liverpool Shared Research Facility, University of Liverpool. 115
Western blot 116
Western blot was undertaken as detailed in Dawson et al with 1.6 μg of organoid lysates and 117
0.64 μg venom (Dawson et al., 2024). Antivenom used for the detection of B. arietans toxins was 118
EchiTAb-Plus-ICP (lot 7131123PALF, Expiry: 11/2028), a polyspecific antivenom raised against a 119
mixture of African snakes including B. arietans. Neuro Polyvalent Snake Antivenom (NPAV, lot 120
NP00515, Expiry: 29/9/2020) – an antivenom targeting neurotoxic venoms from Naja kaouthia, 121
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted March 31, 2026. ; https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.27.714740doi: bioRxiv preprint
6
Ophiophagus hannah, Bungarus candidus and B. fasciatus – was used for the detection of B. 122
dendrophila toxins. Antivenoms were standardised to 10mg/ml and then diluted 1: 1,000. As in 123
Dawson et al., Horse IgG (H&L) Antibody DyLightTM800 Conjugated (Cambridge Bioscience, 124
608445002, 1:15,000) was utilised as the secondary antibody. 125
Activity assays 126
Organoids protein lysates (200 µg/ml) and venom (100 µg/ml – 10,000 µg/ml) were analysed for 127
snake venom metalloproteinase (SVMP) and phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity. SVMP activity 128
was determined in vitro using a quenched fluorogenic substrate (ES010 Mca-KPLGL-Dpa-AR-129
NH2, R&D Biosystems) as detailed previously (Menzies et al., 2022). PLA2 activity was 130
determined in vitro using the secretory phospholipase A2 assay kit from Abcam (AB133089) 131
following manufacture instructions. Inhibition of muscle-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor 132
(nAChR) by B. dendrophila organoid protein lysates (60 µg/ml) and venom (0.1 µg/ml - 600 133
µg/ml) was determined using a membrane potential dye on TE671 cells expressing the γ-134
subunit containing muscle-type nAChR, as detailed in Patel et al. (Patel et al., 2023). Alpha-135
bungarotoxin (α-BgTx), isolated from Bungarus multicinctus venom was purchased from 136
Invitrogen (B1601) and used as a positive control at 90nM in the nAChR inhibition assay. 137
Statistical analysis 138
Data visualisation and statistical analysis was undertaken GraphPad Prism 10.2.1. Normality 139
was assessed by Shapiro-Wilk test and visualisation with Q-Q plots, and parametric or non-140
parametric statistical tests were undertaken as appropriate. Differences in SVMP activity were 141
assessed by comparing area under the curve. Differences in PLA2 activity were assessed by 142
comparing the final time points (60 min). Differences in inhibition of activated nAChR were 143
assessed by normalization to control acetylcholine (ACh)-induced nAChR activation. 144
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted March 31, 2026. ; https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.27.714740doi: bioRxiv preprint
7
Results
and Discussion 145
Establishment of Colubridae organoids 146
Boiga dendrophila venom gland was digested, resulting in the release of small structures 147
(Figure 1A, day 0) that generated proliferating organoids (Figure 1A, day 2 - 7). For comparisons 148
to front-fanged snakes, Bitis arietans venom glands organoids were also established. Digestion 149
of B. arietans venom glands resulted in the release of structures larger than that of B. 150
dendrophila (Figure 1A, day 0) which formed organoids that expanded over time (Figure 1A, day 151
2 - 7). Expansion of both B. dendrophila and B. arietans organoids was challenging, and 152
therefore Naja haje (Elapidae) organoids were cultured as a control (Figure 1A). These 153
organoids were non-granular and expanded rapidly. In accordance, the only published 154
accounts of long-term culture of snake venom gland organoids are those established from 155
Elapidae (Mackessy, 2022; Puschhof et al., 2021). 156
We then assessed whether B. dendrophila organoids could be established from tissue stored in 157
liquid nitrogen, because freshly excised snake venom gland tissue is not readily available to 158
many researchers. Establishment of B. dendrophila organoids from stored tissue samples, 159
utilising the same method as on fresh tissue, was unsuccessful (Supplementary Figure 1). 160
Histology of Colubridae organoids 161
Organoid morphology and cellular organization was assessed by H&E and PAS staining and 162
compared to native tissue. Organoids showed a high level of similarity to native tissue. The 163
majority of B. dendrophila organoids were lobular in shape composed of thick swirls of cells 164
around a small lumen (Figure 1B), with smaller cavities and thicker cellular linings than B. 165
arietans organoids. Some B. dendrophila organoids had a more spherical morphology 166
(Supplementary Figure 2). In organoids from both species, PAS-positive granules and cells in 167
the luminal lining confirmed the presence of mucosecretory cells, akin to tubules in the tissue. 168
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted March 31, 2026. ; https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.27.714740doi: bioRxiv preprint
8
Further analysis, such as single cell RNA sequencing and comparisons of transmission electron 169
micrographs, will be required to compare cell types (Mackessy, 2022). 170
Organoids were then differentiated, resulting in reduced organoid expansion. No visible 171
changes in B. dendrophila organoid morphology were observed under light microscope (Figure 172
2C). However, differentiation of B. arietans organoids appeared to induce some cell death. This 173
was confirmed by active caspase-3 staining (Supplementary Figure 3). In addition, some 174
extracellular matrix domes were completely degraded upon differentiation of B. arietans 175
organoids, resulting in organoids becoming two-dimensional (Supplementary Figure 4). It is 176
tempting to speculate that this could be due to SVMPs degrading the basement membrane 177
extract (BME). Consistent with this hypothesis, BME breakdown has been observed in cultures 178
of Crotalus atrox (Viperidae) venom gland organoids, but not Crotalus scutulatus venom gland 179
organoids, which are species with SVMP-rich and SVMP-poor venom, respectively (Dr Timothy 180
A. Peterson, University of Maryland, personal communications). 181
Venom toxin content in organoids lysates 182
Next it was assessed whether B. dendrophila and B. arietans venom gland organoids produced 183
venom similar in composition to living snakes (Figure 2A-B). Western blotting of B. arietans 184
venom revealed EchiTAb-Plus-ICP immunoreactive proteins at approximately 10 - 15 kDa and 185
40 - 70 kDa, consistent with the molecular weights of SVMPs and PLA2s (Bartlett et al., 2025; 186
Howard, 1975). The low molecular weight band (10 - 15k Da) was observed in both 187
differentiated and undifferentiated B. arietans organoid lysates, whilst a band at ~70 kDa was 188
only observed in undifferentiated organoids. These findings were also observed in organoids 189
lysates from B. arietans with Nigerian locality (Supplementary Figure 5), suggesting the 190
production of SVMPs and PLA2s in undifferentiated B. arietans organoids. 191
Due to the lack of Boiga spp. antivenom, Neuro Polyvalent Snake Antivenom (NPAV) – an 192
antivenom raised against Asian species with high 3FTx content – was utilised in an attempt to 193
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted March 31, 2026. ; https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.27.714740doi: bioRxiv preprint
9
detect B. dendrophila toxins. NPAV had cross reactivity with B. dendrophila venom, but only low 194
immunoreactivity towards 3FTxs (10 - 15 kDa) (Supplementary Figure 6). Immunoreactive 195
proteins at 15 - 25 kDa, 55 kDa, 55 - 100 kDa and 100 - 130 kDa were seen for the 196
undifferentiated organoids and B. dendrophila venom. Bands at 55 to 100 kDa were detected in 197
differentiated B. dendrophila organoids (Figure 2A). Using information from published accounts 198
of Boiga venom composition, we speculate the 20 kDa organoid toxins detected to be CRISPs 199
(Dashevsky et al., 2018) and the ~55 kDa toxin to be SVMPs (Pla et al., 2018). The two toxins in 200
B. dendrohila venom at 55 - 100 and 100 - 130 kDa have been detected previously but remain 201
uncharacterised (Pla et al., 2018), preventing us from identifying these toxins in the organoids. 202
We were unable to confirm the presence of 3FTxs (toxins smaller than 15 kDa, typically 6 – 8.1 203
kDa) in organoids, potentially due to the low reactivity NPAV against B. dendrophila 3FTxs. 204
These findings demonstrate the capacity of non-front fanged snake venom gland organoids to 205
produce toxins that reflect the protein composition of whole venom. However, top-down 206
proteomics and transcriptomics analysis will be required to validate the presence of specific 207
toxins and further understand the differences between differentiated and undifferentiated 208
venom gland organoids. 209
Total protein staining showed the presence of many additional bands in the organoid lysates 210
that were not present in venom collected from either B. arietans or B. dendrophila. This is 211
because venom was harvested from organoids by sonication, resulting in the release of 212
intracellular non-toxin proteins. It would be interesting to explore alternative methods of 213
organoid toxin harvest by mechanical disruption such as freeze-thaw and repeat pipetting with 214
a narrow tip, in an attempt to reduce non-toxin protein content. 215
Venom toxin activity in organoids lysates 216
Next, we assessed if the toxins produced by venom gland organoids were functional. In 217
accordance with the SVMP activity detected in B. arietans venom (100 - 1,000 µg/ml, ANOVA, p 218
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted March 31, 2026. ; https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.27.714740doi: bioRxiv preprint
10
< 0.001, Figure 2C) and B. dendrophila venom (1,000 µg/ml - 10,000 µg/ml, ANOVA, p < 0.05, 219
Figure 2D), undifferentiated B. arietans and B. dendrophila organoid lysates displayed 220
significant SVMP activity (ANOVA, p > 0.05, Figure 2E-F), consistent with the lack of antivenom-222
reactive proteins at ~55kDa in these samples. 223
In accordance with previous studies (Broaders and Ryan, 1997; Hill and Mackessy, 2000; 224
Howard, 1975), PLA2 activity was observed in B. arietans venom (100 - 1,000 µg/ml, ANOVA, p < 225
0.001, Figure 2G) and B. dendrophila venom (1,000 - 10,000 µg/ml, ANOVA, p < 0.05, Figure 2H). 226
Again, undifferentiated organoid lysates had PLA2 activity (ANOVA, p 0.05, Figure 2I-J). 228
B. dendrophila venom displayed dose-dependent α-neurotoxin activity; inhibiting ACh-induced 229
activation of the muscle-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) with an IC50 of 0.86 230
µg/ml (Figure 2K). Interestingly, this is in the same order of magnitude as Dendroaspis viridis 231
venom (IC50 of 0.59 µg/ml) (Patel et al., 2023) and represent the first report of B. dendrophila 232
venom or toxin inhibiting a human nAChR. Previous studies have examined the chick or mouse 233
nAChR (Lumsden et al., 2004; Lumsden et al., 2005; Pawlak et al., 2006). Dosing with 234
differentiated and undifferentiated organoids slightly decreased ACh-induced nAChR 235
activation, however, this was not significant (ANOVA, p > 0.05, Figure 2L). This is potentially due 236
to the lower concentration used compared to the PLA2 and SVMP assay, as samples had to be 237
diluted to obtain the larger volume required for this assay. It would have been interesting to 238
repeat experiments with higher concentrations of organoid lysates. However, the limited 239
expansion of the organoids prevented this and highlights the need for further studies optimising 240
the sub-culture of this family of organoids. 241
These findings hint towards the production of functionally active toxins in organoids, however, it 242
is important to note the presence of intracellular non-toxin proteins in organoid lysates that 243
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted March 31, 2026. ; https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.27.714740doi: bioRxiv preprint
11
could interfere with assay results. It will be important to isolate and test specific organoid 244
toxins by HPLC to test this hypothesis. 245
In conclusion, this is the first establishment of snake venom gland organoids from non-front-246
fanged snakes. Venom extraction from this group of snakes is challenging, providing very 247
limited yields and requiring extraction chemicals which contaminate the venom (Damm et al., 248
2025). This research takes a step towards utilising organoids as a tractable and renewable 249
platform for venom production and functional studies. Boiga spp. organoids specifically are a 250
valuable model to investigate evolutionary adaptations due to their prey-specific toxins, and 251
serve as a comparative baseline for the more specialised venom glands of front-fanged snakes. 252
Non-front-fanged organoids provide a powerful platform to investigate many aspects of snake 253
venom glands, from establishing cell types and lineages, to identifying drivers of venom 254
diversity, to studying venom synthesis and secretion (Mackessy, 2022). 255
References
264
Bartlett, K. E., Westhorpe, A., Wilkinson, M. C. and Casewell, N. R. (2025). Snake venom 265
metalloproteinases from puff adder and saw-scaled viper venoms cause cytotoxic effects 266
in human keratinocytes. Toxins 17, 328. 267
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted March 31, 2026. ; https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.27.714740doi: bioRxiv preprint
12
Broaders, M. and Ryan, M. F. (1997). Enzymatic properties of the Duvernoy’s secretion of 268
Blanding’s Tree snake (Boiga blanding) and the Mangrove Snake ((Boiga dendrophila). 269
Toxicon 35, 1148. 270
Clevers, H. (2016). Modeling development and disease with organoids. Cell 165, 1586–1597. 271
Damm, K., Hartwig, C., Vilcinskas, A., Mackessy, S. P., Lüddecke, T. and Damm, M. (2025). 272
Ketamine and metabolites in snake venom: effects of venom extraction and potential 273
impact on animal models. Sci. Rep. 15, 1–5. 274
Dashevsky, D., Debono, J., Rokyta, D., Nouwens, A., Josh, P. and Fry, B. G. (2018). Three-275
finger toxin diversification in the venoms of cat-eye snakes (Colubridae: Boiga). J. Mol. 276
Evol. 86, 531–545. 277
Dawson, C. A., Bartlett, K. E., Wilkinson, M. C., Ainsworth, S., Albulescu, L. O., Kazandijan, 278
T., Hall, S. R., Westhorpe, A., Clare, R., Wagstaff, S., et al. (2024). Intraspecific venom 279
variation in the medically important puff adder (Bitis arietans): Comparative venom gland 280
transcriptomics, in vitro venom activity and immunological recognition by antivenom. 281
PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis. 18, 1–22. 282
Figueroa, A., McKelvy, A. D., Grismer, L. L., Bell, C. D. and Lailvaux, S. P. (2016). A species-283
level phylogeny of extant snakes with description of a new colubrid subfamily and genus. 284
PLoS One 11, 1–31. 285
Hill, R. E. and Mackessy, S. P. (1997). Venom yields from several species of colubrid snakes 286
and differential effects of ketamine. Toxicon 35, 671–678. 287
Hill, R. E. and Mackessy, S. P. (2000). Characterization of venom (Duvernoy’s secretion) from 288
twelve species of colubrid snakes and partial sequence of four venom proteins. Toxicon 289
38, 1663–1687. 290
Howard, N. L. (1975). Phospholipase As from puff adder (Bitis arietans) venom. Toxicon 13, 21–291
30. 292
Kardong, K. V. and Lavin-Murcio, P. A. (1993). Venom delivery of snakes as high-pressure and 293
low-pressure systems. Copeia 1993, 644–650. 294
Lumsden, N. G., Fry, B. G., Manjunatha Kini, R. and Hodgson, W. C. (2004). In vitro 295
neuromuscular activity of ‘colubrid’ venoms: clinical and evolutionary implications. 296
Toxicon 43, 819–827. 297
Lumsden, N. G., Fry, B. G., Ventura, S., Manjunatha Kini, R. and Hodgson, W. C. (2005). 298
Pharmacological characterisation of a neurotoxin from the venom of Boiga dendrophila 299
(Mangrove catsnake). Toxicon 45, 329–334. 300
Mackessy, S. P. (2022). Venom production and secretion in reptiles. Journal of Experimental 301
Biology 225, 1–10. 302
Mackessy, S. P. and Saviola, A. J. (2016). Understanding biological roles of venoms among the 303
Caenophidia: the importance of rear-fanged snakes. Integr. Comp. Biol. 56, 1004–1021. 304
Menzies, S. K., Clare, R. H., Xie, C., Westhorpe, A., Hall, S. R., Edge, R. J., Alsolaiss, J., 305
Crittenden, E., Marriott, A. E., Harrison, R. A., et al. (2022). In vitro and in vivo preclinical 306
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted March 31, 2026. ; https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.27.714740doi: bioRxiv preprint
13
venom inhibition assays identify metalloproteinase inhibiting drugs as potential future 307
treatments for snakebite envenoming by Dispholidus typus. Toxicon X 14, 1–10. 308
Modahl, C. M. and Mackessy, S. P. (2019). Venoms of rear-fanged snakes: new proteins and 309
novel activities. Front. Ecol. Evol. 7, 1–18. 310
Patel, R. N., Clare, R. H., Ledsgaard, L., Nys, M., Kool, J., Laustsen, A. H., Ulens, C. and 311
Casewell, N. R. (2023). An in vitro assay to investigate venom neurotoxin activity on 312
muscle-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor activation and for the discovery of toxin-313
inhibitory molecules. Biochem. Pharmacol. 216, 1–13. 314
Pawlak, J., Mackessy, S. P., Fry, B. G., Bhatia, M., Mourier, G., Fruchart-Gaillard, C., 315
Servent, D., Ménez, R., Stura, E., Ménez, A., et al. (2006). Denmotoxin, a three-finger 316
toxin from the colubrid snake Boiga dendrophila (mangrove catsnake) with bird-specific 317
activity. Journal of Biological Chemistry 281, 29030–29041. 318
Pla, D., Petras, D., Saviola, A. J., Modahl, C. M., Sanz, L., Pérez, A., Juárez, E., Frietze, S., 319
Dorrestein, P. C., Mackessy, S. P., et al. (2018). Transcriptomics-guided bottom-up and 320
top-down venomics of neonate and adult specimens of the arboreal rear-fanged Brown 321
Treesnake, Boiga irregularis, from Guam. J. Proteomics 174, 71–84. 322
Post, Y., Puschhof, J., Beumer, J., Kerkkamp, H. M., de Bakker, M. A. G., Slagboom, J., de 323
Barbanson, B., Wevers, N. R., Spijkers, X. M., Olivier, T., et al. (2020). Snake venom 324
gland organoids. Cell 180, 233-247.e21. 325
Puschhof, J., Post, Y., Beumer, J., Kerkkamp, H. M., Bittenbinder, M., Vonk, F. J., Casewell, 326
N. R., Richardson, M. K. and Clevers, H. (2021). Derivation of snake venom gland 327
organoids for in vitro venom production. Nat. Protoc. 16, 1494–1510. 328
Pyron, R. A., Burbrink, F. T. and Wiens, J. J. (2013). A phylogeny and revised classification of 329
Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes. BMC Evol. Biol. 13, 1–53. 330
Zaher, H., Murphy, R. W., Arredondo, J. C., Graboski, R., Machado-Filho, P. R., Mahlow, K., 331
Montingelli, G. G., Quadros, A. B., Orlov, N. L., Wilkinson, M., et al. (2019). Large-scale 332
molecular phylogeny, morphology, divergence-time estimation, and the fossil record of 333
advanced caenophidian snakes (Squamata: Serpentes). PLoS One 14, 1–82. 334
335
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted March 31, 2026. ; https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.27.714740doi: bioRxiv preprint
Figure 1. Establishment, growth and
differentiation of snake venom gland
organoids. Tissue fragments were isolated from
freshly excised tissue of snake venom gland of
Boiga dendrophila and Bitis arietans and
expanded for 7 days in proliferation media. Naja
haje organoids were revived from liquid nitrogen
and expanded. A) Bright field images were taken
to monitor organoid formation and growth. B) B.
dendrophila and B. arietans organoids were
stained with H&E and PAS. C) Light microscopy
of differentiated and undifferentiated B.
dendrophila and B. arietans venom gland
organoids .
Day 0 Day 2 Day 5
Day 7
A
C
Differentiated
organoids
Undifferentiated
organoids
B. dendrophila
B. arietans
B B. arietansB. dendrophila
H&E PAS H&E PAS
Organoids
Tissues
B. arietansB. dendrophila
N. haje
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted March 31, 2026. ; https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.27.714740doi: bioRxiv preprint
Figure 2. Toxin composition and activity of B.
dendrophila and B. arietans venom and venom gland
organoids. A) Toxin composition of B. arietans organoids
and venom were analysed by Western blot using
antivenom EchiTAb-plus. B) Toxin composition of B.
dendrophila organoids and venom were analysed by
Western blot using antivenom NPAV. C-F) SVMP activity of
B. arietans venom (C), B. arietans organoids (D), B.
dendrophila venom (E), B. dendrophila organoids (F). G-J)
PLA2 activity of B. arietans venom (G), B. arietans
organoids (H) B. dendrophila venom (I) and B. dendrophila
organoids (J). K-L) Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor
inhibition by B. dendrophila venom (K) and organoids (L). *
p< 0.05, ** p< 0.05, *** p<0.001 relative to control for
SVMP and PLA2 assay, and relative to ACh for
neurotoxicity assay. Abbreviations: 3FTx, three finger
toxins; ACh, acetylcholine; BgTx, Bungarotoxin; CRISPs,
cysteine-rich secretory proteins; Dif, differentiated
organoids; PLA2, phospholipase 2; SVMP, snake venom
metalloproteinases; Undif, undifferentiated organoids,
CA
*
***
E
G I
D
B
F
H J
K
L
***
***
***
***
*
***
***
***
***
*
****
***
*
*
SVMP activity
PLA2 activity nAChR antagonism
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted March 31, 2026. ; https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.27.714740doi: bioRxiv preprint