Establishment of snake venom gland organoids from a novel family, Colubridae

Stephanie A. French; Rachael Da Silva; Rohit N. Patel; Claire H Caygill; Shannon Quek; Adam Westhorpe; Jens Puschhof; Rebecca J. Edge; Charlotte A. Dawson; Edouard Crittenden; Paul D. Rowley; Zachary Holland; Stephen P. Mackessy; Cassandra Marie Modahl

doi:10.64898/2026.03.27.714740

BioengineeringbioRxivMar 31, 2026

Preprint

Establishment of snake venom gland organoids from a novel family, Colubridae

Stephanie A. French iD, Rachael Da Silva, Rohit N. Patel iD, Claire H Caygill iD, Shannon Quek iD, Adam Westhorpe iD, Jens Puschhof iD, Rebecca J. Edge iD, Charlotte A. Dawson iD, Edouard Crittenden iD, Paul D. Rowley, Zachary Holland iD, Stephen P. Mackessy iD, Cassandra Marie Modahl iD

Abstract

Non-front-fanged snakes are abundant, diverse and represent approximately 70% of extant snakes. However, there is limited knowledge about most species and their venoms, in part due to the technical and welfare challenges associated with venom extraction, low venom yields, and the lack of cellular models available. Organoids represent an excellent opportunity to overcome these challenges. Here, we establish, for the first time, venom gland organoids from snakes of the Colubridae family and demonstrate the in vitro production of toxins.

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