Snake of Bangladesh: The Overview


The first ever snakes database around the country

Bangladesh, being located in the humid tropical region is very rich in species diversity both for flora and fauna. According to the report funded by UNDP, IUCN has reported that the country has about 113 species of mammals, over 630 species of birds, 125 species of reptiles and 22 species of amphibians (Position of Bangladesh vis-a-vis Convention on Biological Diversity. URL: http://www.sdnbd.org/biodiv_iucn.htm). At present this massive biodiversity is at high risk due to overwhelming population growth and reclamation of the forest and wildlife habitat to mitigate increasing land requirement for accommodation and food. There is however, no systematic data on the current status of the fauna biodiversity except for a few species (tigers, deer etc). Although snakes are an important parameter of our ecosystem and have tremendous importance in biopharmaceutical research, that been ignored for proper recording possibly due to the danger and panic of handling of this mysterious reptiles. So far, there is no well structured database available for the venomous snakes and venom composition of snakes in the world. 'The Reptile Database' (URL: http://reptile-database.org/) is the major database on snakes which deals simply with the description of different snake species (both venomous and non venomous) of the world. However, the most important components of poisonous snakes are venom components which are not included in the database. Unfortunately, a few documentations are present for snakes in Bangladesh. Thus, there is an imperative need to compile all available documentations on indigenous snakes. It is also important to include the latest available information on the venom components of the snakes of Bangladesh (specifically gene and protein sequence, protein 3D structures etc). The reason behind this is, venom proteins have tremendous implication in biopharmaceutical industry and to understand gene and protein evolution. As a matter of fact snake venom is considered as versatile gold mine for drug lead compound. A number of drugs are currently available in the market derived from snake venom proteins and hundreds are in the different stages of drug developmental pipeline. But in spite of being rich in snake diversity, the venom resources of our country's venomous snakes are still unexplored. Therefore, this database is going to be a reference point for future research on protein sequence of the vast array of unknown venom proteins and also for field based wild-life survey on reptiles of Bangladesh. This secondary database is not only going to provide the viewer and researcher a one stop web for descriptive information regarding the available snake species of Bangladesh but also a strong base for bioinformatics analysis. We strongly believe that the database is a great initiative and will serve as an invaluable asset for our nation. Scientist through the world will be benefited from the database and that will contribute in developing rational drug through protein engineering and understanding different physiological function. Moreover, the database will comprise the list of endangered snakes of Bangladesh. Awareness for wildlife conservation as well as awareness in snake bite treatment and management is also a part of this database which will contribute for betterment of our society. This database will serve as a basic guideline for future field based wild-life survey on reptiles of Bangladesh and it will be easier for the field researcher for identification of the available snake species of Bangladesh.


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