Dataset Information

Global, regional, and cladistic patterns of variation in climatic niche breadths in terrestrial elapid snakes.

ABSTRACT: We obtained geo-referenced occurrence and climatic data from individual localities for 59 species of terrestrial elapid snakes, used phylogenetic generalized least squares regression to investigate spatial and cladistic patterns of variation in climatic niche breadths, and compared patterns within and across regions and clades to see if they parallel or differ from each other. Specifically, we test (1) whether a species' climatic niche breadth on a given niche axis relates to its position along that axis, and to its climatic niche breadth on another niche axis, and (2) whether variation in niche breadths among species is explained by within-locality variation in climatic conditions or by among-locality variation. We found that: (1) there is an overall global pattern, and patterns in individual regions or clades generally parallel each other and global patterns; (2) species in warmer environments have narrower temperature niche breadths (TNBs); (3) precipitation niche breadth (PNB) and position are positively related; (4) TNB and PNB are not related; and (5) within-locality variation in climatic conditions explains most variation in TNBs, whereas among-locality variation explains most variation in PNBs. Our results are consistent with those reported for lizards of the families Phrynosomatidae and Varanidae, confirm the importance of within-locality niche breadth to species niche breadth, and show a more important role of among-locality niche breadth in affecting species niche breadth in terrestrial elapids than in lizards.

SUBMITTER: Lin LH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6347059 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Global, regional, and cladistic patterns of variation in climatic niche breadths in terrestrial elapid snakes.

Lin Long-Hui LH Zhu Xia-Ming XM Du Yu Y Fang Meng-Chao MC Ji Xiang X

Current zoology 20180406 1

We obtained geo-referenced occurrence and climatic data from individual localities for 59 species of terrestrial elapid snakes, used phylogenetic generalized least squares regression to investigate spatial and cladistic patterns of variation in climatic niche breadths, and compared patterns within and across regions and clades to see if they parallel or differ from each other. Specifically, we test (1) whether a species' climatic niche breadth on a given niche axis relates to its position along ...[more]

PMID: 30697233

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Project description:BackgroundVenom systems are ideal models to study genetic regulatory mechanisms that underpin evolutionary novelty. Snake venom glands are thought to share a common origin, but there are major distinctions between venom toxins from the medically significant snake families Elapidae and Viperidae, and toxin gene regulatory investigations in elapid snakes have been limited. Here, we used high-throughput RNA-sequencing to profile gene expression and microRNAs between active (milked) and resting (unmilked) venom glands in an elapid (Eastern Brown Snake, Pseudonaja textilis), in addition to comparative genomics, to identify cis- and trans-acting regulation of venom production in an elapid in comparison to viperids (Crotalus viridis and C. tigris).ResultsAlthough there is conservation in high-level mechanistic pathways regulating venom production (unfolded protein response, Notch signaling and cholesterol homeostasis), there are differences in the regulation of histone methylation enzymes, transcription factors, and microRNAs in venom glands from these two snake families. Histone methyltransferases and transcription factor (TF) specificity protein 1 (Sp1) were highly upregulated in the milked elapid venom gland in comparison to the viperids, whereas nuclear factor I (NFI) TFs were upregulated after viperid venom milking. Sp1 and NFI cis-regulatory elements were common to toxin gene promoter regions, but many unique elements were also present between elapid and viperid toxins. The presence of Sp1 binding sites across multiple elapid toxin gene promoter regions that have been experimentally determined to regulate expression, in addition to upregulation of Sp1 after venom milking, suggests this transcription factor is involved in elapid toxin expression. microRNA profiles were distinctive between milked and unmilked venom glands for both snake families, and microRNAs were predicted to target a diversity of toxin transcripts in the elapid P. textilis venom gland, but only snake venom metalloproteinase transcripts in the viperid C. viridis venom gland. These results suggest differences in toxin gene posttranscriptional regulation between the elapid P. textilis and viperid C. viridis.ConclusionsOur comparative transcriptomic and genomic analyses between toxin genes and isoforms in elapid and viperid snakes suggests independent toxin regulation between these two snake families, demonstrating multiple different regulatory mechanisms underpin a venomous phenotype.

Dataset Information

Global, regional, and cladistic patterns of variation in climatic niche breadths in terrestrial elapid snakes.

Publications

Global, regional, and cladistic patterns of variation in climatic niche breadths in terrestrial elapid snakes.

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