並列タイトル等The Evolutionary Genetics of Venoms: How Nature Created the Perfect Chemical Weapon
授与機関名Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
一般注記Venomous animals have fascinated humans for millennia. How nature shaped a simple biological secretion into a potent chemical weapon is a testament to evolution’s power and versatility. However, the early origins and genetic mechanisms of venom evolution are not clearly understood. Venoms consist of proteinaceous cocktails where each protein can be mapped to a specific gene; I utilized this genetic tractability to uncover the molecular and genetic mechanisms behind its evolution. Using a combination of quantitative genetics, transcriptomics, and phylogenetics, I have identified specific mechanisms that led to the origin of oral venoms in mammals and reptiles. Oral venoms originated from an ancient conserved gene regulatory network whose primary role was maintaining cellular homeostasis during increased protein production. This ancient system could tolerate high protein loads, facilitating the parallel recruitment of various diverse protein families into the ancient venom. Venom complexity then increased by sequence and copy number variation of toxins. High copy numbers contributed to this system’s phenotypic flexibility, allowing it to further diversify through changes in evolutionary rates and by altering the combinations of toxins used. These features enabled evolution to refine venom cocktails to form optimal formulations. I provide the first unified and deep evolutionary model describing the early steps in forming a venom system and show how millions of years of evolution produced venom phenotypes in extant lineages. All chapters of this thesis have been peer-reviewed and published.
コレクション(個別)国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション > デジタル化資料 > 博士論文
受理日(W3CDTF)2022-08-08T06:02:54+09:00
連携機関・データベース国立国会図書館 : 国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション