Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Mol Biol Evol. 2020 Oct 1;37(10):2777-2790. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msaa133.
A central goal in biology is to determine the ways in which evolution repeats itself. One of the most remarkable examples in nature of convergent evolutionary novelty is animal venom. Across diverse animal phyla, various specialized organs and anatomical structures have evolved from disparate developmental tissues to perform the same function, that is, produce and deliver a cocktail of potent molecules to subdue prey or predators. Venomous organisms therefore offer unique opportunities to investigate the evolutionary processes of convergence of key adaptive traits, and the molecular mechanisms underlying the emergence of novel genes, cells, and tissues. Indeed, some venomous species have already proven to be highly amenable as models for developmental studies, and recent work with venom gland organoids provides manipulatable systems for directly testing important evolutionary questions. Here, we provide a synthesis of the current knowledge that could serve as a starting point for the establishment of venom systems as new models for evolutionary and molecular biology. In particular, we highlight the potential of various venomous species for the study of cell differentiation and cell identity, and the regulatory dynamics of rapidly evolving, highly expressed, tissue-specific, gene paralogs. We hope that this review will encourage researchers to look beyond traditional study organisms and consider venom systems as useful tools to explore evolutionary novelties.
生物学的一个核心目标是确定进化重复的方式。自然界中最显著的趋同进化新颖性的例子之一是动物毒液。在不同的动物门中，各种专门的器官和解剖结构从不同的发育组织进化而来，以执行相同的功能，即产生和输送强效分子混合物来制服猎物或捕食者。因此，有毒生物为研究关键适应性特征的趋同进化过程以及新基因、细胞和组织出现的分子机制提供了独特的机会。事实上，一些有毒物种已经被证明非常适合作为发育研究的模型，最近使用毒液腺类器官提供了可操作的系统，可直接测试重要的进化问题。在这里，我们综合了目前的知识，为将毒液系统作为进化和分子生物学的新模型奠定了基础。特别是，我们强调了各种有毒物种在研究细胞分化和细胞身份以及快速进化、高度表达、组织特异性基因旁系同源物的调节动态方面的潜力。我们希望这篇综述将鼓励研究人员超越传统的研究生物，并将毒液系统视为探索进化新颖性的有用工具。
