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Venom optimization hypothesis
Venom optimization hypothesis, also known as venom metering, is a biological hypothesis which postulates that venomous animals have physiological control over their production and use of venoms. It explains the economic use of venom because venom is a metabolically expensive product, and that there is a biological mechanism for controlling their specific use. The hypothetical concept was proposed by Esther Wigger, Lucia Kuhn-Nentwig, and Wolfgang Nentwig of the Zoological Institute at the University of Bern, Switzerland, in 2002.
A number of venomous animals have been experimentally found to regulate the amount of venom they use during predation or defensive situations. Species of anemones, jellyfishes, ants, scorpions, spiders, and snakes are found to use their venoms frugally depending on the situation and size of their preys or predators.
==Development==
Venom optimization hypothesis was postulated by Wigger, Kuhn-Nentwig, and Nentwig from their studies of the amount of venom used by a wandering spider ''Cupiennius salei''. This spider produces a neurotoxic peptide called CsTx-1 for paralysing its prey. It does not produce web for trapping preys, and therefore, entirely depends on its venom for predation. It is known to prey on a variety of insects including, butterfly, moth, earwig, cockroach, fly and grasshopper. Its venom glands store only about 10 μl crude venom. Refilling of the glands takes 2–3 days and the lethal efficacy of the venom is very low for several days, requiring 8 to 18 days for full effect. It was found that the amount of venom released differed for each specific prey. For example, for bigger and stronger insects like beetle, the spider uses the entire amount of its venom; while for small ones, it uses only small amount, thus economising its costly venom.〔 In fact, experiments show that the amount of venom released is just sufficient (at the lethal dose) to paralyse the target organism depending on the size or strength, and not more than necessary.
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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