Diet and snake venom evolution

VENOM composition within snake species can show considerable geographical variation 1 , an important consideration because bites by conspecific populations may differ in symptomatology and require different treatments 2–5 . The underlying causes of this phenomenon have never been explained. Here we...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1996-02, Vol.379 (6565), p.537-540
Main Authors: Daltry, Jennifer C, Wüster, Wolfgang, Thorpe, Roger S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amphibia. Reptilia
Animal poisons toxicology. Antivenoms
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Evolution
Calloselasma rhodostoma
Diet
DNA, Mitochondrial - genetics
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetic Variation
Humanities and Social Sciences
letter
Medical sciences
Mitochondrial DNA
multidisciplinary
Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
Predation
Prey
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Serpentes
Snakes
Toxicology
Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution
Viper Venoms - genetics
Viperidae - genetics
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Summary:VENOM composition within snake species can show considerable geographical variation 1 , an important consideration because bites by conspecific populations may differ in symptomatology and require different treatments 2–5 . The underlying causes of this phenomenon have never been explained. Here we present evidence that the variation in the venom of the pitviper Calloselasma rhodostoma (Serpentes: Viperidae) is closely associated with its diet. We also evaluated other possible causes of geographic variation in venom using partial Mantel tests 6–10 and independent contrasts 11 , but rejected both contemporary gene flow (estimated from geographical proximity) and the phylogenetic relationships (assessed by analysis of mitochondrial DNA) among populations as important influences upon venom evolution. As the primary function of viperid venom is to immobilize and digest prey 12–14 and prey animals vary in their susceptibility to venom 15,16 , we suggest that geographical variation in venom composition reflects natural selection for feeding on local prey.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/379537a0