Poster Presentation 47th Lorne Genome Conference 2026

Molecular dissection of cellular response to deadly Irukandji venom (133796)

Matthew A Waller 1 , Jamie Seymour 2 , Greg Neely 1
  1. Dr. John and Anne Chong Lab for Functional Genomics, Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  2. Queensland Tropical Health Alliance, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Molecular Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns Campus, Cairns, QLD, Australia

Carukia barnesi (colloquially referred to as ‘Irukandji’) is a species of highly venomous jellyfish found in northern Australian waters with an extraordinarily painful and potentially lethal sting. Envenomation causes ‘Irukandji Syndrome’, involving intense pain, a sense of impending doom, and cardiovascular dysfunction leading to death. C. barnesi venom and its mechanism of action on cells remains largely uncharacterised. We have used a FACS-based CRISPR screening strategy to investigate changes in Ca2+ responses after venom exposure. From this we identified a candidate C. barnesi venom receptor and validation of hits is underway. Our research has the potential to inform treatment strategies for C. barnesi envenomation, and guide development of new therapies targeting pain, cardiovascular disease or sense of doom.