Transcriptomic and Proteomic Characterization of Liver Proteins in Poison and Non-Poison Frog Species: Insights into Alkaloid Sequestration Mechanisms

• Grant number: 23/16289-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: August 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry
• Principal Investigator: Daniel Carvalho Pimenta
• Grantee: Julia Albuquerque de Pinna
• Host Institution: Instituto Butantan. Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Chemical defense is used by various organisms to avoid predators, parasites, and infections. Besides synthesizing their own chemicals, some animals are able to sequester dietary compounds and use them for their own defense. Among those animals are the "poison frogs", an assemblage of species that represent several distinct phylogenetic lineages. Poison frogs have the ability to sequester lipophilic alkaloids from dietary arthropods, storing them in their granular glands. Aside from having evolved autoresistance and detoxication mechanisms, these frogs also acquired physiological novelties for alkaloid transport and storage. The molecular pathway of this process is still unknown, and the main goal of this study is to identify and understand enzymes and other proteins involved in alkaloid sequestration. To achieve this goal, we will use a multidisciplinary approach combining transcriptomics, proteomics, alkaloid induction assays and phylogenetic analyses. Apart from revealing for the first time how poison frogs can metabolize and sequester lipophilic alkaloids, our results will also elucidate its evolutionary origin and possible convergent evolution in multiple frog lineages.