Single-Cell Heterogeneity in Snake Venom Expression Is Hardwired by Co-Option of Regulators from Progressively Activated Pathways.

ABSTRACT: The ubiquitous cellular heterogeneity underlying many organism-level phenotypes raises questions about what factors drive this heterogeneity and how these complex heterogeneous systems evolve. Here, we use single-cell expression data from a Prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis) venom gland to evaluate hypotheses for signaling networks underlying snake venom regulation and the degree to which different venom gene families have evolutionarily recruited distinct regulatory architectures. Our findings suggest that snake venom regulatory systems have evolutionarily co-opted trans-regulatory factors from extracellular signal-regulated kinase and unfolded protein response pathways that specifically coordinate expression of distinct venom toxins in a phased sequence across a single population of

SUBMITTER: Westfall AK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10289209 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature