{"id":7082,"date":"2025-02-24T10:18:18","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T08:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foliush-igor.com\/?p=7082"},"modified":"2025-02-24T10:07:32","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T08:07:32","slug":"poison-in-nature-how-plants-fungi-and-bacteria-use-toxins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foliush-igor.com\/en\/poison-in-nature-how-plants-fungi-and-bacteria-use-toxins\/","title":{"rendered":"Poison in nature: how plants, fungi and bacteria use toxins"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Venom delivery systems are not exclusive to animals\u2014many other organisms, including plants, fungi, protists, bacteria, and viruses, have evolved toxin-based strategies for survival.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7063\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7063\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7063\" src=\"https:\/\/foliush-igor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/600-400-24-02-25-01-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7063\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">by @freepik<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A review <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-6651\/17\/3\/99\">published<\/a> in <em>Toxins<\/em> highlights diverse venom mechanisms across non-animal groups. Traditionally, venom was considered an animal trait, but research shows independent evolution of similar systems in multiple lineages. These mechanisms serve functions in defense, predation, and competition, demonstrating a remarkable convergence across the tree of life.<\/p>\n<p>Plants deploy venom-like strategies through stinging trichomes, toxic secretions, and symbiotic relationships. <em>Urtica dioica<\/em> (stinging nettle) releases irritant toxins through specialized hairs, while <em>Viscum album<\/em> (white mistletoe) injects enzymes into host plants via haustoria, altering their physiology. Some species, like <em>Dieffenbachia<\/em>, produce needle-like oxalate crystals that embed in mucous membranes, causing toxicity.<\/p>\n<p>Fungi also possess toxin-injection systems. Pathogenic fungi form <em>appressoria<\/em>, structures that penetrate plant cells, while predatory fungi like <em>Nematoctonus<\/em> use adhesive hyphae and toxins to immobilize and kill nematodes. Similarly, protists such as <em>Coleps<\/em> deploy toxic extrusomes to inject venom into prey, and <em>Polykrikos<\/em> utilizes nematocyst-like organelles resembling jellyfish stinging cells.<\/p>\n<p>Bacteria and viruses have evolved highly specialized venomous systems. Bacteria use the <em>Type VI Secretion System (T6SS)<\/em> to inject toxins into competitors or host cells. Some bacteriophages employ needle-like structures to enter cells, mimicking venom injection mechanisms seen in animals.<\/p>\n<p>The widespread presence of venom-like mechanisms in diverse organisms highlights their ecological significance. Further research could lead to advancements in medicine, biotechnology, and our understanding of evolutionary adaptations across life forms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Venom delivery systems are not exclusive to animals\u2014many other organisms, including plants, fungi, protists, bacteria, and viruses, have evolved toxin-based strategies for survival. A review published in Toxins highlights diverse venom mechanisms across non-animal groups. Traditionally, venom was considered an animal trait, but research shows independent evolution of similar systems in multiple lineages. These mechanisms [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[152,159],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7082","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news-en","8":"category-news-en-2"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foliush-igor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foliush-igor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foliush-igor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foliush-igor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foliush-igor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foliush-igor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foliush-igor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foliush-igor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foliush-igor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foliush-igor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}