Snake venom research has historically focused on front-fanged species (Viperidae and Elapidae), limiting our knowledge of venom evolution in rear-fanged snakes across their ecologically-diverse phylogeny. Three finger toxins (3FTxs) are a known neurotoxic component in the venoms of some rear-fanged snakes (Colubrinae, Colubridae), but it is unclear how prevalent 3FTxs are both in expression within venom glands and more broadly among colubrine species. Here, we used a transcriptomic approach to characterize the venom expression profiles of four species of colubrine snakes from Neotropics that were dominated by 3FTx expression (in the genera Chironius, Oxybelis, Rhinobothryum, and Spilotes) and reconstructed the gene trees of 3FTxs. Overall, our results highlight the importance of exploring the venoms of understudied species in reconstructing the full evolutionary history of toxins across the tree of life.
Srodawa, K., Cerda, P.A., Davis Rabosky, A.R., Crowe-Riddell, J.M. Evolution of Three Finger Toxin Genes in Neotropical Colubrine Snakes (Colubridae). Toxins 2023, 15(9), 523; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15090523
