Snake Venom in Context: Neglected Clades and Concepts

Jackson, Timothy N. W.; Jouanne, Hadrien; Vidal, Nicolás

doi:10.3389/fevo.2019.00332

Cited by 49 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 68 publications

(84 reference statements)

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“…Identifying and testing the general patterns between ecological factors and venom functionality and composition at large taxonomic scales can offer a key pathway to understanding the fundamental mechanisms driving the evolution of venom diversity. Ultimately, understanding such mechanisms may contribute to clinical developments [12,54] and aid in bioprospecting [5,55]. From an ecological perspective, understanding the association between diet and venom may aid in our ability to predict the ecological role of venomous predators in rapidly changing ecosystems [56].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When delivered into a target organism, these components interact to create a functional response, typically to subjugate prey or deter threats [5][6][7][8][9]. While venom has evolved in response to several factors [10][11][12], for species that use venom for predation, various functional aspects of their venoms, such as their potency, are expected to reflect the evolutionary pressures related to capturing prey [5]. In particular, as the functional ability of such venoms are selected through their efficacy against the organisms they are most frequently targeted towards, they are expected to show patterns of prey-specific potencies [13,14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diet Breadth Mediates the Prey Specificity of Venom Potency in Snakes

Lyons

Dugon

Healy

2020

Toxins

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Venoms are best known for their ability to incapacitate prey. In predatory groups, venom potency is predicted to reflect ecological and evolutionary drivers relating to diet. While venoms have been found to have prey-specific potencies, the role of diet breadth on venom potencies has yet to be tested at large macroecological scales. Here, using a comparative analysis of 100 snake species, we show that the evolution of prey-specific venom potencies is contingent on the breadth of a species’ diet. We find that while snake venom is more potent when tested on species closely related to natural prey items, we only find this prey-specific pattern in species with taxonomically narrow diets. While we find that the taxonomic diversity of a snakes’ diet mediates the prey specificity of its venom, the species richness of its diet was not found to affect these prey-specific potency patterns. This indicates that the physiological diversity of a species’ diet is an important driver of the evolution of generalist venom potencies. These findings suggest that the venoms of species with taxonomically diverse diets may be better suited to incapacitating novel prey species and hence play an important role for species within changing environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diet Breadth Mediates the Prey Specificity of Venom Potency in Snakes

Lyons

Dugon

Healy

2020

Toxins

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“…Venom is a functional trait used by one organism to interfere with the homeostatic processes of another, generally to facilitate feeding or deter predators or competitors [ 18 ]. Venom is therefore intrinsically ecological; a trait that mediates the outcome of interactions between two or more organisms [ 22 ]. ‘Venomous’ is not synonymous with ‘dangerous’, and the majority of venomous organisms, including snakes, pose no threat to humans, either because they rarely, if ever, envenom humans, or because the consequences of envenoming are trivial.…”

Section: Ecology Drives Inter- and Intraspecific Snake Venom Variatiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes and Consequences of Snake Venom Variation

Casewell

Jackson

Laustsen

et al. 2020

Trends in Pharmacological Sciences

237

182

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Snake venoms are mixtures of toxins that vary extensively between and within snake species. This variability has serious consequences for the management of the world’s 1.8 million annual snakebite victims. Advances in ‘omic’ technologies have empowered toxinologists to comprehensively characterize snake venom compositions, unravel the molecular mechanisms that underpin venom variation, and elucidate the ensuing functional consequences. In this review, we describe how such mechanistic processes have resulted in suites of toxin isoforms that cause diverse pathologies in human snakebite victims and we detail how variation in venom composition can result in treatment failure. Finally, we outline current therapeutic approaches designed to circumvent venom variation and deliver next-generation treatments for the world’s most lethal neglected tropical disease.

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“…Venom systems are functional and ecological traits, used by one organism to subdue, deter, or surreptitiously feed upon, another ( Jackson et al, 2019 ). A venom system is composed of a secretion—the venom itself—the tissue that produces that secretion (e.g., a “venom gland”), and a delivery mechanism (e.g., fangs or a stinger) that inoculates the secretion to the target organism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How the Toxin got its Toxicity

Jackson

Koludarov

2020

Front. Pharmacol.

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Venom systems are functional and ecological traits, typically used by one organism to subdue or deter another. A predominant subset of their constituent molecules—“toxins”—share this ecological function and are therefore molecules that mediate interactions between organisms. Such molecules have been referred to as “exochemicals.” There has been debate within the field of toxinology concerning the evolutionary pathways leading to the “recruitment” of a gene product for a toxic role within venom. We review these discussions and the evidence interpreted in support of alternate pathways, along with many of the most popular models describing the origin of novel molecular functions in general. We note that such functions may arise with or without gene duplication occurring and are often the consequence of a gene product encountering a novel “environment,” i.e., a range of novel partners for molecular interaction. After stressing the distinction between “activity” and “function,” we describe in detail the results of a recent study which reconstructed the evolutionary history of a multigene family that has been recruited as a toxin and argue that these results indicate that a pluralistic approach to understanding the origin of novel functions is advantageous. This leads us to recommend that an expansive approach be taken to the definition of “neofunctionalization”—simply the origins of a novel molecular function by any process—and “recruitment”—the “weaponization” of a molecule via the acquisition of a toxic function in venom, by any process. Recruitment does not occur at the molecular level or even at the level of gene expression, but only when a confluence of factors results in the ecological deployment of a physiologically active molecule as a toxin. Subsequent to recruitment, the evolutionary regime of a gene family may shift into a more dynamic form of “birth-and-death.” Thus, recruitment leads to a form of “downwards causation,” in which a change at the ecological level at which whole organisms interact leads to a change in patterns of evolution at the genomic level.

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Snake Venom in Context: Neglected Clades and Concepts

Cited by 49 publications

References 68 publications

Diet Breadth Mediates the Prey Specificity of Venom Potency in Snakes

Diet Breadth Mediates the Prey Specificity of Venom Potency in Snakes

Causes and Consequences of Snake Venom Variation

How the Toxin got its Toxicity

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