Study on the variability of venom in snakes of the Bothrops jararaca complex and its correlation with the processes of speciation in continental islands

• Grant number: 18/25749-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: March 01, 2019
• End date: March 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Animal Genetics
• Agreement: NSF - Dimensions of Biodiversity and BIOTA
• Principal Investigator: Inácio de Loiola Meirelles Junqueira de Azevedo
• Grantee: José Antonio Portes Junior
• Host Institution: Instituto Butantan. Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/50127-5 - Dimensions US-BIOTA São Paulo: scales of biodiversity: integrated studies of snake venom evolution and function across multiple levels of diversity, AP.BTA.TEM

Abstract

The molecular mechanisms of adaptive evolution are little known. So far, it is not known how the complex evolutionary novelties are generated during the recent processes of speciation. Distinct phenotypic characteristics could arise due to changes in gene regulation or directional selection of mutations in the genes themselves. Isolated venomous snakes on islands are powerful models for studies on the evolutionary processes that generate phenotypic diversity. The venoms produced by the species of Bothrops jararaca complex are considered highly related to the availability of prey of the same. Populations of B. jararaca underwent several processes of recent speciation, in the continental islands of southeastern Brazil, making these island populations an extreme case of recent adaptation to distinct niches. This project aims to evaluate the complexity of venoms in both island and continental populations of the Bothrops jararaca complex in order to infer the importance of venom composition in the adaptation of these populations to the niche in which they are found. For this, we will analyze the chromatographic profiles of the individual venoms, generate the transcriptome of the venom glands and characterize the proteome of each venom by mass spectrometry analysis. Based on the results obtained, we will try to correlate the venom diversity to the demographic, biological and ecological parameters of the populations sampled. In this way, we will test the hypothesis that the rapid phenotypic differentiation between closely related species can be shaped by an intense process of natural selection, which would support theories of ecological speciation through the rapid adaptation to different niches.

Scientific publications

(5)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

HARRIS, RICHARD J.; YOUNGMAN, NICHOLAS J.; ZDENEK, CHRISTINA N.; HUYNH, TAM M.; NOUWENS, AMANDA; HODGSON, WAYNE C.; HARRICH, DAVID; DUNSTAN, NATHAN; PORTES-JUNIOR, JOSE A.; FRY, BRYAN G.. Assessing the Binding of Venoms from Aquatic Elapids to the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Orthosteric Site of Different Prey Models. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES, v. 21, n. 19, OCT 2020. (18/25749-8)

FREITAS-DE-SOUSA, LUCIANA A.; NACHTIGALL, PEDRO G.; FORTES-JUNIOR, JOSE A.; HOLDING, MATTHEW L.; NYSTROM, GUNNAR S.; ELLSWORTH, SCHYLER A.; GUIMARIES, NORANATHAN C.; TIOYAMA, EMILLY; ORTIZ, FLORA; SILVA, BRUNO R.; et al. Size Matters: An Evaluation of the Molecular Basis of Ontogenetic Modifications in the Composition of Bothrops jararacussu Snake Venom. TOXINS, v. 12, n. 12, DEC 2020. (18/25749-8, 18/08589-7, 18/15753-8, 18/26520-4, 16/50127-5, 17/24546-3)

DASHEVSKY, DANIEL; BENARD-VALLE, MELISA; NERI-CASTRO, EDGAR; YOUNGMAN, NICHOLAS J.; ZDENEK, CHRISTINA N.; ALAGON, ALEJANDRO; PORTES-JUNIOR, JOSE A.; FRANK, NATHANIEL; FRY, BRYAN G.. Anticoagulant Micrurus venoms: Targets and neutralization. Toxicology Letters, v. 337, p. 91-97, FEB 1 2021. (18/25749-8)

BARBO, FAUSTO E.; BOOKER, WILLIAM W.; DUARTE, MARCELO R.; CHALUPPE, BETINA; PORTES-JUNIOR, JOSE A.; FRANCO, FRANCISCO L.; GRAZZIOTIN, FELIPE G.. peciation process on Brazilian continental islands, with the description of a new insular lancehead of the genus Bothrops (Serpentes, Viperidae. SYSTEMATICS AND BIODIVERSITY, v. 20, n. 1, p. 1-25, DEC 31 2022. (18/25749-8, 16/50127-5, 12/09156-0)

MOURA-DA-SILVA, ANA MARIA; CONTRERAS-BERNAL, JORGE CARLOS; GIMENES, SARAH NATALIE CIRILO; FREITAS-DE-SOUSA, LUCIANA APARECIDA; PORTES-JUNIOR, JOSE ANTONIO; PEIXOTO, PEDRO DA SILVA; IWAI, LEO KEI; DE MOURA, VALERIA MOURAO; BISNETO, PEDRO FERREIRA; LACERDA, MARCUS; et al. The relationship between clinics and the venom of the causative Amazon pit viper (Bothrops atrox). PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, v. 14, n. 6, JUN 2020. (13/07467-1, 18/13108-8, 18/25749-8, 17/24546-3)