ArticlePloS one2013
Echidna venom gland transcriptome provides insights into the evolution of monotreme venom.
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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11 citing papers in PubMed, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Insights into platypus crural gland transcriptomics - venom and beyond.BMC genomics · 2025Article
- Towards the Exploration and Evolution of Insulin-like Venoms in Actiniaria (Marine drugs · 2024Review
- Article
- Unconventional insulins from predators and pathogens.Nature chemical biology · 2022Review
- Male Mutation Bias Is the Main Force Shaping Chromosomal Substitution Rates in Monotreme Mammals.Genome biology and evolution · 2017Article
- A Spur to Atavism: Placing Platypus Poison.Journal of the history of biology · 2015Article
- Cabinet of Curiosities: Venom Systems and Their Ecological Function in Mammals, with a Focus on Primates.Toxins · 2015Review
- Review
- Nemertean toxin genes revealed through transcriptome sequencing.Genome biology and evolution · 2014Article
- A Polychaete's powerful punch: venom gland transcriptomics of Glycera reveals a complex cocktail of toxin homologs.Genome biology and evolution · 2014Article
- Review
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Monotremes (echidna and platypus) are egg-laying mammals. One of their most unique characteristic is that males have venom/crural glands that are seasonally active. Male platypuses produce venom during the breeding season, delivered via spurs, to aid in competition against other males. Echidnas are not able to erect their spurs, but a milky secretion is produced by the gland during the breeding season. The function and molecular composition of echidna venom is as yet unknown. Hence, we compared the deeply sequenced transcriptome of an in-season echidna crural gland to that of a platypus and searched for putative venom genes to provide clues into the function of echidna venom and the evolutionary history of monotreme venom. We found that the echidna venom gland transcriptome was markedly different from the platypus with no correlation between the top 50 most highly expressed genes. Four peptides found in the venom of the platypus were detected in the echidna transcriptome. However, these genes were not highly expressed in echidna, suggesting that they are the remnants of the evolutionary history of the ancestral venom gland. Gene ontology terms associated with the top 100 most highly expressed genes in echidna, showed functional terms associated with steroidal and fatty acid production, suggesting that echidna "venom" may play a role in scent communication during the breeding season. The loss of the ability to erect the spur and other unknown evolutionary forces acting in the echidna lineage resulted in the gradual decay of venom components and the evolution of a new role for the crural gland.
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