Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42600100›Full record

ArticleMolecular biology and evolution2026

From neuropeptides to toxins: illuminating the origins of venom complexity in cone snails.

Thomas Lund Koch, Giada Ferrari, Sunita B Sumanam, Paula Flórez Salcedo, Maren Watkins, Kevin Chase, Ave Tooming-Klunderud, Arturo O Lluisma, Angel Yanagihara, Neil D Young and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular biology and evolution, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Thomas Lund KochDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8489-0375
Giada FerrariCentre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-0850-1518
Sunita B SumanamMelbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3552, Australia.ORCID 0009-0007-8907-1524
Paula Flórez SalcedoDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2109-8612
Maren WatkinsSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4127-1961
Kevin ChaseSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9968-1437
Ave Tooming-KlunderudCentre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway.ORCID 0009-0008-0057-2873
Arturo O LluismaThe Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines, Quezon City 1101, Philippines.ORCID 0000-0002-6885-8615
Angel YanagiharaDepartment of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6908-8176
Neil D YoungMelbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3552, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-8756-229X
Baldomero M OliveraSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4556-1410
Eivind A B UndheimCentre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-8667-3999
Helena Safavi-HemamiDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1984-2721

Funding

UTAH REGIONAL CANCER CENTERP30CA042014 · NCI · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · PI Jared P Rutter · 1986 to 2026
$72.6M
“Conus venom peptides and their molecular targets: Using pharmaconomics and neuroethology as a framework for discovery”R01GM144719 · NIGMS · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · PI OLIVERA, BALDOMERO M, RAGHURAMAN, SHRINIVASAN · 2022 to 2025
$2.5M
ERC 101039862NCI NIH HHS P30 CA042014NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM144719NINDS NIH HHS GM144719Research Fund Denmark 3102-00006B
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

New genes and gene functions are key drivers of evolutionary innovation. Venomous animals, such as cone snails, provide striking examples of gene innovation, yet the mechanisms by which toxins arise remain poorly understood. Using the Conus textile genome, we uncover how neuropeptide genes were recruited into the venom and neofunctionalized as doppelgänger toxins. We identify over 20 independent recruitment events that evolved dynamically across the Conus lineage. Rather than arising from ohnologs of a whole-genome duplication event ∼200 mya, these toxins evolved through diverse mechanisms, including exon shuffling, alternative splicing, and ectopic recombination, often facilitated by lineage-specific transposable elements. Our findings reveal a dynamic interplay between genome architecture and molecular innovation, offering broad insight into the evolution of complex gene repertoires in venoms and beyond.

Indexed as

ConotoxinsConus SnailMollusk VenomsNeuropeptidesAlternative SplicingAnimalsEvolution, MolecularExonsGene DuplicationPhylogenyConotoxinsMollusk VenomsNeuropeptidesconotoxinDoppelgänger toxinexon shuffleneofunctionalizationpeptides

Identifiers

PMID42600100
PMCPMC13542836

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

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.