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Updated: Jun 19, 2025

A Bioinformatics Pipeline for Investigating Molecular Evolution and Gene Expression using RNA-seq
Published on: May 28, 2021
Comparative genomics sheds new light on the convergent evolution of infrared vision in snakes
Dahu Zou1, Song Huang2, Shilin Tian3
1Engineering Research Center of Eco-Environment in Three Gorges Reservoir Region of Ministry of Education, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, Hubei 443002, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Infrared vision is a highly specialized sensory system that evolved independently in three clades of snakes. Apparently, convergent evolution occurred in the transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) proteins of infrared-sensing snakes. However, this gene can only explain how infrared signals are received, and not the transduction and processing of those signals. We sequenced the genome of Xenopeltis unicolor, a key outgroup species of pythons, and performed a genome-wide analysis of convergence between two clades of infrared-sensing snakes. Our results revealed pervasive molecular adaptation in pathways associated with neural development and other functions, with parallel selection on loci associated with trigeminal nerve structural organization. In addition, we found evidence of convergent amino acid substitutions in a set of genes, including TRPA1 and TRPM2. The analysis also identified convergent accelerated evolution in non-coding elements near 12 genes involved in facial nerve structural organization and optic nerve development. Thus, convergent evolution occurred across multiple dimensions of infrared vision in vipers and pythons, as well as amino acid substitutions, non-coding elements, genes and functions. These changes enabled independent groups of snakes to develop and use infrared vision.
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