The roles of balancing selection and recombination in the evolution of rattlesnake venom.

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 maintenan

SUBMITTER: Schield DR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9888523 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature