The Global World of Toxins: From the Sea to the Sky

Dear Colleagues,

Toxins are ubiquitous bioactive molecules produced by organisms from all kingdoms of life and across all ecosystems. Their extraordinary structural and functional diversity underpins essential ecological interactions and convergent evolution, while providing unique opportunities for advances in fundamental biology, biotechnology, medicine, and environmental sciences. From marine and terrestrial environments to airborne dissemination pathways, toxins continue to reveal unexpected roles, novel mechanisms of action, and innovative applications. In this Special Issue of Toxins, entitled “The Global World of Toxins: From the Sea to the Sky”, we invite the submission of original research articles, reviews, and perspectives addressing the broad spectrum of contemporary toxinology. Contributions may include, but are not limited to, the discovery and characterization of novel toxins and venom components; advances in toxin evolution, ecology, and biodiversity; structure-function relationships and molecular mechanisms of action; toxin interactions with receptors and signaling pathways; environmental and public health aspects of natural toxins; venom variability and adaptation; and the development of toxin-derived pharmacological tools, therapeutics, diagnostics, biocatalysts, and biotechnological applications.

This Special Issue is aimed at reflecting the scientific themes of the 32nd Meeting on Toxinology (RT32) organized by the French Society for Toxinology (SFET, http://sfet.asso.fr/international/) and held on November 19-20, 2026, in Nice, France. The meeting explores the global world of toxins through dedicated though complementary sessions on aquatic toxins, terrestrial toxins, and airborne toxins, highlighting recent advances ranging from marine venoms and phycotoxins to microbial toxins, arthropod venoms, snake venoms, parasitoid wasp venoms, and toxin-inspired bioengineering approaches. Particular attention is given to emerging concepts and technologies, including omics-based toxin discovery, venom evolution and plasticity, host-pathogen interactions, receptor pharmacology, environmental toxicology, and translational applications of toxins to human health. We warmly welcome submissions from not only the RT32 speakers and participants but also the broader international community of toxinologists.

We look forward to receiving your contributions and to showcasing the diversity, innovation, and impact of modern toxinology through this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Katrina Campbell
Dr. Pascale Marchot
Dr. Sylvie Diochot
Dr. Emmanuel Lemichez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxins is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.