Evolution stings: the origin and diversification of scorpion toxin peptide scaffolds.

ABSTRACT: The episodic nature of natural selection and the accumulation of extreme sequence divergence in venom-encoding genes over long periods of evolutionary time can obscure the signature of positive Darwinian selection. Recognition of the true biocomplexity is further hampered by the limited taxon selection, with easy to obtain or medically important species typically being the subject of intense venom research, relative to the actual taxonomical diversity in nature. This holds true for scorpions, which are one of the most ancient terrestrial venomous animal lineages. The family Buthidae that includes all the medically significant species has been intensely investigated around the globe, while almost completely ignoring the remaining non-buthid families. Australian scorpion lineages, for instan

SUBMITTER: Sunagar K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3873696 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature