ArticleNature ecology & evolution2022
The roles of balancing selection and recombination in the evolution of rattlesnake venom.
Article in Nature ecology & evolution, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers.
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Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed.
- Sexual Dimorphism and Intraspecific Toxin Variation in Crotalus durissus terrificus Venom: Insights from Proteomics, Peptidomics, and Structural Modeling.Journal of proteome research · 2026Article
- Assessing the Evolutionary Potential of Endangered Populations Using Genomic Analyses of Selection in Ecologically Important Gene Regions.Molecular ecology · 2026Article
- Truncated Life History Underlies Rapid Local Adaptation in Island Rattlesnake Venom Expression.Genome biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Venom variation and the future of antivenom design: Integrating population venomics, evolutionary toxinology, and precision therapeutics.Toxicon: X · 2026Review
- Evolution of genome-wide barriers to gene flow during complex speciation in rattlesnakes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Chromosome-level reference genome for the common wall gecko (Tarentola mauritanica) enables comparative and functional studies in geckos.G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Article
- A century of theories of balancing selection.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2026Review
- Snakes (Colubridae: Erythrolamprus) With a Complex Toxic Diet Show Convergent yet Highly Heterogeneous Voltage-gated Sodium Channel Evolution.Genome biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Natural selection and recombination interact to structure genome-wide variation in pines.The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology · 2026Article
- Molecular mechanisms underlying early functional divergence in snake venom inferred from the genomes of two pitviper lineages.BMC biology · 2025Article
- Estimation of genome-wide coupling in rattlesnake hybrids provides insight into the process of speciation and its progress.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Unveiling the Evolutionary History of European Vipers and Their Venoms From a Multi-Omic Approach.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Article
- Make Acetylcholine Great Again! Australian Skinks Evolved Multiple Neurotoxin-Proof Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors in Defiance of Snake Venom.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Insights into the genetic basis of bilateral head asymmetry in a scale-eating cichlid fish.Science advances · 2025Article
- Genomes of two Extinct-in-the-Wild reptiles from Christmas Island reveal distinct evolutionary histories and conservation insights.Molecular ecology resources · 2025Article
- Ambient temperature and toxic diets constrain snake venom resistance in a desert rodent.Biology letters · 2025Article
- Trans-Specific Polymorphisms Between Cryptic Daphnia Species Affect Fitness and Behavior.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Chromosome-level reference genome for the medically important Arabian horned viper (Cerastes gasperettii).GigaScience · 2025Article
- Article
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12 authors.
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Abstract
The origin of snake venom involved duplication and recruitment of non-venom genes into venom systems. Several studies have predicted that directional positive selection has governed this process. Venom composition varies substantially across snake species and venom phenotypes are locally adapted to prey, leading to coevolutionary interactions between predator and prey. Venom origins and contemporary snake venom evolution may therefore be driven by fundamentally different selection regimes, yet investigations of population-level patterns of selection have been limited. Here, we use whole-genome data from 68 rattlesnakes to test hypotheses about the factors that drive genomic diversity and differentiation in major venom gene regions. We show that selection has resulted in long-term maintenance of genetic diversity within and between species in multiple venom gene families. Our findings are inconsistent with a dominant role of directional positive selection and instead support a role of long-term balancing selection in shaping venom evolution. We also detect rapid decay of linkage disequilibrium due to high recombination rates in venom regions, suggesting that venom genes have reduced selective interference with nearby loci, including other venom paralogues. Our results provide an example of long-term balancing selection that drives trans-species polymorphism and help to explain how snake venom keeps pace with prey resistance.
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