[dinosaur] Solenodon venom evolution since Cretaceous (free pdf)

Ben Creisler
[email protected]

A new non-dino paper that may be of interest:

Free pdf:

Nicholas R. Casewell, Daniel Petras, Daren C. Card, Vivek Suranse, Alexis
M. Mychajliw, David Richards, Ivan Koludarov, Laura-Oana Albulescu, Julien
Slagboom, Benjamin-Florian Hempel, Neville M. Ngum, Rosalind J. Kennerley,
Jorge L. Brocca, Gareth Whiteley, Robert A. Harrison, Fiona M. S. Bolton,
Jordan Debono, Freek J. Vonk, Jessica Alföldi, Jeremy Johnson, Elinor K.
Karlsson, Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, Ian R. Mellor, Roderich D. Süssmuth, Bryan
G. Fry, Sanjaya Kuruppu, Wayne C. Hodgson, Jeroen Kool, Todd A. Castoe, Ian
Barnes, Kartik Sunagar, Eivind A. B. Undheim, and Samuel T. Turvey (2019)
Solenodon genome reveals convergent evolution of venom in eulipotyphlan
mammals.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (advance online publication)
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1073_pnas.1906117116&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=jwKJKKljJLe983Ax7FWA2ztN9x4egQMinST4SxhXboo&s=dLb1j23QJMXcV9MysehZtQezu2ggA88WyThjZzADnj4&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.pnas.org_content_early_2019_11_25_1906117116&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=jwKJKKljJLe983Ax7FWA2ztN9x4egQMinST4SxhXboo&s=2fYb18IlJ6qC15qosKDlPdlq9UaCIf0p-huuT-XMR4o&e= 

Free pdf:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.pnas.org_content_pnas_early_2019_11_25_1906117116.full.pdf&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=jwKJKKljJLe983Ax7FWA2ztN9x4egQMinST4SxhXboo&s=ZkMIu_Bna29mn7jBsyqyBGvanHtmOU0yZHCzwSmqBkE&e= 

Significance

Multiple representatives of eulipotyphlan mammals (shrews, hedgehogs,
moles, and solenodons) are venomous, but little is known about the
evolutionary history and composition of their oral venom systems. Herein we
characterized venom from the endangered Hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodon
paradoxus) and find that it consists of hypotensive proteins likely used to
facilitate vertebrate prey capture. We demonstrate that venom has evolved
independently on at least 4 occasions in eulipotyphlans, and that molecular
components of these venoms have also evolved convergently, with
kallikrein-1 proteins coopted as toxins in both solenodons and shrews
following their divergence over 70 million years ago. Our findings present
an elegant example of convergent molecular evolution and highlight that
mammalian venom systems may be subjected to evolutionary constraints.

Abstract

Venom systems are key adaptations that have evolved throughout the tree of
life and typically facilitate predation or defense. Despite venoms being
model systems for studying a variety of evolutionary and physiological
processes, many taxonomic groups remain understudied, including venomous
mammals. Within the order Eulipotyphla, multiple shrew species and
solenodons have oral venom systems. Despite morphological variation of
their delivery systems, it remains unclear whether venom represents the
ancestral state in this group or is the result of multiple independent
origins. We investigated the origin and evolution of venom in
eulipotyphlans by characterizing the venom system of the endangered
Hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus). We constructed a genome to
underpin proteomic identifications of solenodon venom toxins, before
undertaking evolutionary analyses of those constituents, and functional
assessments of the secreted venom. Our findings show that solenodon venom
consists of multiple paralogous kallikrein 1 (KLK1) serine proteases, which
cause hypotensive effects in vivo, and seem likely to have evolved to
facilitate vertebrate prey capture. Comparative analyses provide convincing
evidence that the oral venom systems of solenodons and shrews have evolved
convergently, with the 4 independent origins of venom in eulipotyphlans
outnumbering all other venom origins in mammals. We find that KLK1s have
been independently coopted into the venom of shrews and solenodons
following their divergence during the late Cretaceous, suggesting that
evolutionary constraints may be acting on these genes. Consequently, our
findings represent a striking example of convergent molecular evolution and
demonstrate that distinct structural backgrounds can yield equivalent
functions.

News:

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__phys.org_news_2019-2D11-2Dunravelling-2Dvenomous-2Dendangered-2Dmammal.html&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=jwKJKKljJLe983Ax7FWA2ztN9x4egQMinST4SxhXboo&s=o1-sQPCrL1GwyUqjulJ9G5vB2475sp30qgL4GR91_yw&e= 

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.eurekalert.org_pub-5Freleases_2019-2D11_lsot-2Dutv112219.php&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=jwKJKKljJLe983Ax7FWA2ztN9x4egQMinST4SxhXboo&s=J8IlpBDg_t_iFHk01SXmTwOHCzvuu_Tet_JRx7FFxRA&e= 

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