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Extraction of Venom and Venom Gland Microdissections from Spiders for Proteomic and Transcriptomic Analyses

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Published on: November 3, 2014

Trait differentiation and modular toxin expression in palm-pitvipers.

Andrew J Mason¹, Mark J Margres¹, Jason L Strickland¹

¹Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, 190 Collings St., Clemson, SC, 29634, USA.

|February 13, 2020

Summary

Snake venom evolution is driven by modularity, with sub-modules regulating expression of toxins like phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs). This regulation facilitates rapid diversification of venom phenotypes in pitvipers.

Keywords:

Bothriechis Gene family evolution Modularity Transcriptomics Venom

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Genomics
Biochemistry

Background:

Modularity drives the evolution and diversification of complex biological systems.
Snake venoms are highly modular and diverse, showing rapid evolution.
Venom phenotypes often exhibit a dichotomy between neurotoxicity and hemotoxicity, linked to specific toxin families.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if variations in venom phenotypes arise from changes in regulatory sub-modules.
To compare venom gland transcriptomes of Black-Speckled Palm-Pitvipers (Bothriechis nigroviridis) and Talamancan Palm-Pitvipers (B. nubestris).

Main Methods:

Comparative venom gland transcriptomics of two pitviper species.
Assembly of coding sequences and toxin identification.
Weighted gene coexpression network analysis to identify transcript expression sub-modules.

Main Results:

Transcriptomes were highly divergent between species, showing distinct venom expression patterns (neurotoxic, hemorrhagic, mixed).
Six transcript expression sub-modules were identified, with one linked to snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) and another to neurotoxic phospholipase A2 (PLA2) subunits.
Module-associated toxin families exhibited fewer gene duplications and transcript losses, suggesting conserved regulation.

Conclusions:

Sub-modular regulation of gene expression is a likely mechanism for venom phenotype diversification within and between species.
Modularity plays a crucial role in the rapid evolution of complex traits like snake venom composition.