Dimensions US-BIOTA São Paulo: scales of biodiversity: integrated studies of snake venom evolution and function across multiple levels of diversity

Abstract

This project will determine how secondary key innovations within the venom system contribute to diversification patterns in the advanced snakes and test for biases in the genetic pathways underlying rapid phenotypie evolution in venoms as a means for understanding the mechanism underlying the process of diversification in this diverse group. In the first part, we will test for relationships between venom diversity and function and diversification rates using data from more than 100 species from the three families of venomous snakes collected from areas of exceptionally high biodiversity in the North and Central America and Brazil. Using data from venom-gland transcriptomics, quantitative mass spectrometry, and functional assays we will estimate phylogeny, quantify venom function and complexity and test for a link between clade diversification and venom composition. In the second part, we will evaluate the genetics of phenotypic divergence and mutational biases in the generation of venom as an adaptive trait by comprehensively investigating six species pairs (two from each of the three groups) that show recent divergence and significant differences in venom function. For these species, we will assess the importance of pre-transcriptional (e.g., cis- regulatory or copy-number) and post-transcriptional (e.g., translational efficiency or microRNA) mechanisms as determinants of venom protein diversity and test for prey-specific functional effects of venom. This will provide unprecedented detail about microevolutionary processes that underlie a key trait that influences macroevolutionary patterns providing an integrated perspective from the molecular to organismal level on the fundamental processes generating biodiversity. (AU)