Diet Breadth Mediates the Prey Specificity of Venom Potency in Snakes.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Lyons K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7076792 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Diet Breadth Mediates the Prey Specificity of Venom Potency in Snakes.
Lyons Keith K Dugon Michel M MM Healy Kevin K
Toxins 20200123 2
Venoms are best known for their ability to incapacitate prey. In predatory groups, venom potency is predicted to reflect ecological and evolutionary drivers relating to diet. While venoms have been found to have preyspecific potencies, the role of diet breadth on venom potencies has yet to be tested at large macroecological scales. Here, using a comparative analysis of 100 snake species, we show that the evolution of prey-specific venom potencies is contingent on the breadth of a species' diet. ...[more]
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