9513100 Burghardt This award supports a three year cooperative research project between Dr. Gordon M. Burghardt of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and Dr. Akira Mori of Kyoto University. The collaborators assembled also include Dr. Richard Goris at the Yokohama City University School of Medicine and biologists specializing on reptile chemical ecology in the USA. This project will investigate the structure and function of a remarkable nuchal venom gland in a Japanese natricine snake. The problem is how the snake synthesizes and uses this complex chemical stew of potent toxins, which seem to be unique to this species and some relatives. Since related toxins are found in the skin of favored prey of this species, amphibians, it is possible that the venom derives from chemicals sequestered from the diet of the animal. This has not been demonstrated in any amniote vertebrate to date, although many eat potentially toxic amphibians. Neonatal snakes seem to have an undeveloped gland and the ontogeny of the system will be explored through a series of experiments. The behavior of the snakes towards potential predators and responses of such animals to the toxins will also be explored in noninjurious tests. The project brings together workers in behavior, development, snake venoms, and histology from two countries. This proposal fulfills the objectives of the Program in its joint endeavor bringing state of the art methods from two countries into a joint international collaborative effort. ***
