Venomous Noodles: The Evolution of Toxins in Nemertea through Positive Selection and Gene Duplication
Some, probably most and perhaps all, members of the phylum Nemertea are poisonous, documented so far from marine and benthic specimens. Although the toxicity of these animals has been long known, systematic studies on the characterization of toxins, mechanisms of toxicity, and toxin evolution for th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Toxins |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/15/11/650 |
| _version_ | 1827638698328457216 |
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| author | Gabriel Gonzalez Sonoda Eric de Castro Tobaruela Jon Norenburg João Paulo Fabi Sónia C. S. Andrade |
| author_facet | Gabriel Gonzalez Sonoda Eric de Castro Tobaruela Jon Norenburg João Paulo Fabi Sónia C. S. Andrade |
| author_sort | Gabriel Gonzalez Sonoda |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Some, probably most and perhaps all, members of the phylum Nemertea are poisonous, documented so far from marine and benthic specimens. Although the toxicity of these animals has been long known, systematic studies on the characterization of toxins, mechanisms of toxicity, and toxin evolution for this group are scarce. Here, we present the first investigation of the molecular evolution of toxins in Nemertea. Using a proteo-transcriptomic approach, we described toxins in the body and poisonous mucus of the pilidiophoran <i>Lineus sanguineus</i> and the hoplonemertean <i>Nemertopsis pamelaroeae</i>. Using these new and publicly available transcriptomes, we investigated the molecular evolution of six selected toxin gene families. In addition, we also characterized in silico the toxin genes found in the interstitial hoplonemertean, <i>Ototyphlonemertes erneba</i>, a meiofaunal taxa. We successfully identified over 200 toxin transcripts in each of these species. Evidence of positive selection and gene duplication was observed in all investigated toxin genes. We hypothesized that the increased rates of gene duplications observed for Pilidiophora could be involved with the expansion of toxin genes. Studies concerning the natural history of Nemertea are still needed to understand the evolution of their toxins. Nevertheless, our results show evolutionary mechanisms similar to other venomous groups. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:24:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-70fb773a203d463288c3dc043c808d42 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6651 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:24:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Toxins |
| spelling | doaj.art-70fb773a203d463288c3dc043c808d422023-11-24T15:09:35ZengMDPI AGToxins2072-66512023-11-01151165010.3390/toxins15110650Venomous Noodles: The Evolution of Toxins in Nemertea through Positive Selection and Gene DuplicationGabriel Gonzalez Sonoda0Eric de Castro Tobaruela1Jon Norenburg2João Paulo Fabi3Sónia C. S. Andrade4Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, IB-Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-090, BrazilFaculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Food Research Center (FoRC), Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-080, BrazilSmithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20024, USAFaculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Food Research Center (FoRC), Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-080, BrazilDepartamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, IB-Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-090, BrazilSome, probably most and perhaps all, members of the phylum Nemertea are poisonous, documented so far from marine and benthic specimens. Although the toxicity of these animals has been long known, systematic studies on the characterization of toxins, mechanisms of toxicity, and toxin evolution for this group are scarce. Here, we present the first investigation of the molecular evolution of toxins in Nemertea. Using a proteo-transcriptomic approach, we described toxins in the body and poisonous mucus of the pilidiophoran <i>Lineus sanguineus</i> and the hoplonemertean <i>Nemertopsis pamelaroeae</i>. Using these new and publicly available transcriptomes, we investigated the molecular evolution of six selected toxin gene families. In addition, we also characterized in silico the toxin genes found in the interstitial hoplonemertean, <i>Ototyphlonemertes erneba</i>, a meiofaunal taxa. We successfully identified over 200 toxin transcripts in each of these species. Evidence of positive selection and gene duplication was observed in all investigated toxin genes. We hypothesized that the increased rates of gene duplications observed for Pilidiophora could be involved with the expansion of toxin genes. Studies concerning the natural history of Nemertea are still needed to understand the evolution of their toxins. Nevertheless, our results show evolutionary mechanisms similar to other venomous groups.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/15/11/650ribbon wormsdN/dSgene duplicationmolecular evolutionCytotoxin-A |
| spellingShingle | Gabriel Gonzalez Sonoda Eric de Castro Tobaruela Jon Norenburg João Paulo Fabi Sónia C. S. Andrade Venomous Noodles: The Evolution of Toxins in Nemertea through Positive Selection and Gene Duplication Toxins ribbon worms dN/dS gene duplication molecular evolution Cytotoxin-A |
| title | Venomous Noodles: The Evolution of Toxins in Nemertea through Positive Selection and Gene Duplication |
| title_full | Venomous Noodles: The Evolution of Toxins in Nemertea through Positive Selection and Gene Duplication |
| title_fullStr | Venomous Noodles: The Evolution of Toxins in Nemertea through Positive Selection and Gene Duplication |
| title_full_unstemmed | Venomous Noodles: The Evolution of Toxins in Nemertea through Positive Selection and Gene Duplication |
| title_short | Venomous Noodles: The Evolution of Toxins in Nemertea through Positive Selection and Gene Duplication |
| title_sort | venomous noodles the evolution of toxins in nemertea through positive selection and gene duplication |
| topic | ribbon worms dN/dS gene duplication molecular evolution Cytotoxin-A |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/15/11/650 |
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