ArticlePLoS genetics2013
Origin and functional diversification of an amphibian defense peptide arsenal.
Article in PLoS genetics, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 57 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Rana sylvatica skin-secreted antimicrobial peptide (AMP) gene repertoire highlights broader patterns in anuran AMP evolution.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Evolution and Comparative Genomics of the Transforming Growth Factor-β-Related Proteins in Nile Tilapia.Molecular biotechnology · 2025Article
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- Determining the pharmacological potential and biological role of linear pseudoscorpion toxins via functional profiling.iScience · 2024Article
- Activity and Synergy of Cu-ATCUN Antimicrobial Peptides.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- Histological Study of Glandular Variability in the Skin of the Natterjack Toad-Veterinary sciences · 2022Article
- Unconventional insulins from predators and pathogens.Nature chemical biology · 2022Review
- Dynamic genetic differentiation drives the widespread structural and functional convergent evolution of snake venom proteinaceous toxins.BMC biology · 2022Article
- Quantity - but not diversity - of secreted peptides and proteins increases with age in the tree frogThe journal of venomous animals and toxins including tropical diseases · 2021Article
- Immunological Aspects of Chytridiomycosis.Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
- In silico identification and functional validation of linear cationic α-helical antimicrobial peptides in the ascidian Ciona intestinalis.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Article
- An Economic Dilemma Between Molecular Weapon Systems May Explain an Arachno-atypical Venom in Wasp Spiders (Biomolecules · 2020Article
- Activation of the Bile Acid Pathway and No Observed Antimicrobial Peptide Sequences in the Skin of a Poison Frog.G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2019Article
- Antimicrobial resistance in livestock: antimicrobial peptides provide a new solution for a growing challenge.Animal frontiers : the review magazine of animal agriculture · 2018Article
- Frog Skin Innate Immune Defences: Sensing and Surviving Pathogens.Frontiers in immunology · 2018Review
- Article
- Antimicrobial peptides in frog poisons constitute a molecular toxin delivery system against predators.Nature communications · 2017Article
- Identification of a Novel Vasodilatory Octapeptide from the Skin Secretion of the African Hyperoliid Frog, Kassina senegalensis.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2017Article
- Selective Landscapes in newt Immune Genes Inferred from Patterns of Nucleotide Variation.Genome biology and evolution · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The skin secretion of many amphibians contains an arsenal of bioactive molecules, including hormone-like peptides (HLPs) acting as defense toxins against predators, and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) providing protection against infectious microorganisms. Several amphibian taxa seem to have independently acquired the genes to produce skin-secreted peptide arsenals, but it remains unknown how these originated from a non-defensive ancestral gene and evolved diverse defense functions against predators and pathogens. We conducted transcriptome, genome, peptidome and phylogenetic analyses to chart the full gene repertoire underlying the defense peptide arsenal of the frog Silurana tropicalis and reconstruct its evolutionary history. Our study uncovers a cluster of 13 transcriptionally active genes, together encoding up to 19 peptides, including diverse HLP homologues and AMPs. This gene cluster arose from a duplicated gastrointestinal hormone gene that attained a HLP-like defense function after major remodeling of its promoter region. Instead, new defense functions, including antimicrobial activity, arose by mutation of the precursor proteins, resulting in the proteolytic processing of secondary peptides alongside the original ones. Although gene duplication did not trigger functional innovation, it may have subsequently facilitated the convergent loss of the original function in multiple gene lineages (subfunctionalization), completing their transformation from HLP gene to AMP gene. The processing of multiple peptides from a single precursor entails a mechanism through which peptide-encoding genes may establish new functions without the need for gene duplication to avoid adaptive conflicts with older ones.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.