Evolution of Three-Finger Toxin Genes in Neotropical Colubrine Snakes (Colubridae)
Snake venom research has historically focused on front-fanged species (Viperidae and Elapidae), limiting our knowledge of venom evolution in rear-fanged snakes across their ecologically diverse phylogeny. Three-finger toxins (3FTxs) are a known neurotoxic component in the venoms of some rear-fanged...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Toxins |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/15/9/523 |
| _version_ | 1797576584577679360 |
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| author | Kristy Srodawa Peter A. Cerda Alison R. Davis Rabosky Jenna M. Crowe-Riddell |
| author_facet | Kristy Srodawa Peter A. Cerda Alison R. Davis Rabosky Jenna M. Crowe-Riddell |
| author_sort | Kristy Srodawa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Snake venom research has historically focused on front-fanged species (Viperidae and Elapidae), limiting our knowledge of venom evolution in rear-fanged snakes across their ecologically diverse phylogeny. Three-finger toxins (3FTxs) are a known neurotoxic component in the venoms of some rear-fanged snakes (Colubridae: Colubrinae), but it is unclear how prevalent 3FTxs are both in expression within venom glands and more broadly among colubrine species. Here, we used a transcriptomic approach to characterize the venom expression profiles of four species of colubrine snakes from the Neotropics that were dominated by 3FTx expression (in the genera <i>Chironius</i>, <i>Oxybelis</i>, <i>Rhinobothryum</i>, and <i>Spilotes</i>). By reconstructing the gene trees of 3FTxs, we found evidence of putative novel heterodimers in the sequences of <i>Chironius multiventris</i> and <i>Oxybelis aeneus</i>, revealing an instance of parallel evolution of this structural change in 3FTxs among rear-fanged colubrine snakes. We also found positive selection at sites within structural loops or “fingers” of 3FTxs, indicating these areas may be key binding sites that interact with prey target molecules. Overall, our results highlight the importance of exploring the venoms of understudied species in reconstructing the full evolutionary history of toxins across the tree of life. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:54:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f9966e1ba03e472c80a85fa99d35b21c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6651 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:54:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Toxins |
| spelling | doaj.art-f9966e1ba03e472c80a85fa99d35b21c2023-11-19T13:15:31ZengMDPI AGToxins2072-66512023-08-0115952310.3390/toxins15090523Evolution of Three-Finger Toxin Genes in Neotropical Colubrine Snakes (Colubridae)Kristy Srodawa0Peter A. Cerda1Alison R. Davis Rabosky2Jenna M. Crowe-Riddell3Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USAEcology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USAEcology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USAEcology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USASnake venom research has historically focused on front-fanged species (Viperidae and Elapidae), limiting our knowledge of venom evolution in rear-fanged snakes across their ecologically diverse phylogeny. Three-finger toxins (3FTxs) are a known neurotoxic component in the venoms of some rear-fanged snakes (Colubridae: Colubrinae), but it is unclear how prevalent 3FTxs are both in expression within venom glands and more broadly among colubrine species. Here, we used a transcriptomic approach to characterize the venom expression profiles of four species of colubrine snakes from the Neotropics that were dominated by 3FTx expression (in the genera <i>Chironius</i>, <i>Oxybelis</i>, <i>Rhinobothryum</i>, and <i>Spilotes</i>). By reconstructing the gene trees of 3FTxs, we found evidence of putative novel heterodimers in the sequences of <i>Chironius multiventris</i> and <i>Oxybelis aeneus</i>, revealing an instance of parallel evolution of this structural change in 3FTxs among rear-fanged colubrine snakes. We also found positive selection at sites within structural loops or “fingers” of 3FTxs, indicating these areas may be key binding sites that interact with prey target molecules. Overall, our results highlight the importance of exploring the venoms of understudied species in reconstructing the full evolutionary history of toxins across the tree of life.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/15/9/523snake venomneurotoxinmolecular evolutiongene familiesopisthoglyphous |
| spellingShingle | Kristy Srodawa Peter A. Cerda Alison R. Davis Rabosky Jenna M. Crowe-Riddell Evolution of Three-Finger Toxin Genes in Neotropical Colubrine Snakes (Colubridae) Toxins snake venom neurotoxin molecular evolution gene families opisthoglyphous |
| title | Evolution of Three-Finger Toxin Genes in Neotropical Colubrine Snakes (Colubridae) |
| title_full | Evolution of Three-Finger Toxin Genes in Neotropical Colubrine Snakes (Colubridae) |
| title_fullStr | Evolution of Three-Finger Toxin Genes in Neotropical Colubrine Snakes (Colubridae) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evolution of Three-Finger Toxin Genes in Neotropical Colubrine Snakes (Colubridae) |
| title_short | Evolution of Three-Finger Toxin Genes in Neotropical Colubrine Snakes (Colubridae) |
| title_sort | evolution of three finger toxin genes in neotropical colubrine snakes colubridae |
| topic | snake venom neurotoxin molecular evolution gene families opisthoglyphous |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/15/9/523 |
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