(Press-News.org) Contact information: david kelly
david.kelly@ucdenver.edu
303-503-7990
University of Colorado Denver
Burmese python genome reveals extreme adaptation
Offers key insights into nature of evolution
AURORA, Colo. (Dec. 2, 2013) – Scientists from the University of Colorado School of Medicine who sequenced the genome of the Burmese python have discovered large numbers of rapidly evolved genes in snakes.
These genetic changes are linked to extreme characteristics in snakes, such as rapid increases in metabolism and organ growth after feeding, findings that open a novel window into how evolution works at the molecular level.
"The bottom line is that snakes have undergone incredible changes at all levels of their biology, from the physiological to the molecular," said David Pollock, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the CU School of Medicine. "Snakes appear to have functionally evolved much more than other species. They are a crucible of evolution."
Pollock is the principle investigator of the study to appear December 2, 2013 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He and fellow researchers, including lead author Todd Castoe, a former postdoctoral fellow at the CU School of Medicine now at the University of Texas at Arlington, found that snakes carry large numbers of proteins with signatures for positive selection in their ancestors.
This paper, and a companion paper in PNAS detailing the genome of the King Cobra, represent the first complete and annotated snake genomes.
"One of the fundamental questions of evolutionary biology is how vertebrates with all the same genes display such vastly different characteristics," Castoe said. "The Burmese python is a great way to study that because it is so extreme. We'd like to know how snakes uses genes we all have to do things no other vertebrate can do."
Extreme characteristics of the snake such as metabolism, spine and skull shape and cell cycle regulation are linked to positive selection in hundreds of genes.
"When you have positive selection you have a lot of adaptation going on," Pollock said. "Positive selection is rare, but when it happens we are curious. What we are seeing in snakes is unprecedented."
The researcher said these multiple adaptive bursts caused evolutionary redesign of many proteins in the snake.
"We first saw these unusual molecular patterns in the snake mitochondrial DNA, and now it seems they extend throughout the nuclear genome," Pollock said.
The team also found that after Burmese pythons ate, they experienced massive changes in gene expression linked to 35 to 100 percent size increases in their heart, small intestine, liver and kidneys in just 24-48 hours.
Meanwhile, the snake's metabolism, among the lowest of any vertebrate, ramped up significantly. Pollock compared the increase to a horse going from standing still to running a quarter mile race; but the snake isn't moving, just digesting.
"Genes that were fully off are now full on," he said. "Snakes eat animals as big as themselves. Once they catch something that size, they need to digest it quickly before it rots in their stomach, and they have to turn a lot of genes on to do it."
The study said phenotypic novelty in snakes appears to be driven by the system-wide coordination of protein adaptation, gene expression and changes in the genome structure.
Pollock noted that the findings not only offer insights into how evolution works at the molecular level but they also have implications for humans.
"What we are seeing now can apply to people," he said. "We can link mutations to physiological effects and perhaps find a way to stop those mutations before they cause disease. There are any number of possibilities and we are only starting to unravel them."
###
A full list of authors is available online at http://www.pnas.org. The title of the paper is "The Burmese python genome reveals the molecular basis for extreme adaptation in snakes." END
Burmese python genome reveals extreme adaptation
Offers key insights into nature of evolution
2013-12-03
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
New study sheds light on the functional importance of dinosaur beaks
2013-12-03
New study sheds light on the functional importance of dinosaur beaks
Beaks are a typical hallmark of modern birds and can be found in a huge variety of forms and shapes. However, it is less well known that keratin-covered beaks had already evolved in ...
A single spray of oxytocin improves brain function in children with autism
2013-12-03
A single spray of oxytocin improves brain function in children with autism
A single dose of the hormone oxytocin, delivered via nasal spray, has been shown to enhance brain activity while processing social information in children with autism spectrum disorders, Yale School ...
Secrets to 'extreme adaptation' found in Burmese python genome
2013-12-03
Secrets to 'extreme adaptation' found in Burmese python genome
The Burmese python's ability to ramp up its metabolism and enlarge its organs to swallow and digest prey whole can be traced to unusually rapid evolution and specialized adaptations of its ...
Mount Sinai study: Age-related cognitive decline linked to energy in synapses in prefrontal cortex
2013-12-03
Mount Sinai study: Age-related cognitive decline linked to energy in synapses in prefrontal cortex
Hormone-replacement therapy may prevent age-related declines in cognitive functioning
New York, NY – New York, ...
Researchers revise Darwin's thinking on invasive species
2013-12-03
Researchers revise Darwin's thinking on invasive species
Model points way to better understanding chances of invaders succeeding
PULLMAN, Wash.-For more than a century and a half, researchers interested in invasive species have looked to Charles Darwin and what has ...
Stanford engineers show how to optimize carbon nanotube arrays for use in hot spots
2013-12-03
Stanford engineers show how to optimize carbon nanotube arrays for use in hot spots
Experimental evidence and computer simulations suggest how to grow structures with the best trade offs between 3 desired characteristics: strength, flexibility and the ability to ...
What makes the deadliest form of malaria specific to people?
2013-12-03
What makes the deadliest form of malaria specific to people?
The biological interactions that make some malaria parasites specific to host species
Researchers have discovered why the parasite that causes the deadliest form of malaria only infects ...
Arctic study shows key marine food web species at risk from increasing CO2
2013-12-03
Arctic study shows key marine food web species at risk from increasing CO2
A research expedition to the Arctic, as part of the Catlin Arctic Survey, has revealed that tiny crustaceans, known as copepods, that live just beneath the ocean surface are likely to battle ...
Brain connectivity study reveals striking differences between men and women
2013-12-03
Brain connectivity study reveals striking differences between men and women
Penn Medicine brain imaging study helps explain different cognitive strengths in men and women
PHILADELPHIA—A new brain connectivity study from Penn Medicine ...
How bacteria respond so quickly to external changes
2013-12-03
How bacteria respond so quickly to external changes
Understanding how bacteria adapt so quickly to changes in their external environment with continued high growth rates is one of the major research challenges in molecular microbiology. This is important ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Older adults with hydrocephalus benefit from shunt surgery
Strong-confinement low-index-rib-loaded waveguide structure for etchless thin-film integrated photonics
Kidney transplant rejection associated with changes in lymphatic vessels, new research shows
EWRR becomes an official EULAR Congress
How HIV enters the genome – Researchers identify previously unknown mechanism
Scientists create a mathematical model that explains esophageal motility disorders
As pesticides and wildfires rise, kids with cancer need resources
New research suggests integrating behavioral health services in pediatric primary care can reduce symptoms
Monitoring underwater bridge tunnels with the help of high-energy muons
Fast traffic algorithm could improve real-time traffic forecasts
Integrated behavioral health services and psychosocial symptoms in children
Disparities in utilization of uterine fibroid embolization
Chapman University research reveals tropical rainforest soils may fuel climate change as the Earth warms – Accelerating global warming
Older adults with Parkinson’s disease have increased brain amyloid without dementia
Deep learning model estimates cancer risk of lung nodules
Study reveals how different messages motivate people to take conservation actions
SwRI, UT San Antonio collaboration uses machine learning to detect pre-ignition in hydrogen engines
A new way to produce ammonia more efficiently
Kennesaw State secures grant to build community of AI educators
Impact of decline in rescue breathing on child survival in Japan
High-status producers have the support to radically shift their artists’ image, while mid-status producers follow trends
High-performance electrode material that withstands seawater!
Targeted delivery of microRNA sponge short-hairpin RNA via VIR-inspired biotechnical vector: Enhancing cancer therapy
When politics drives entrepreneurial innovation
FAU researchers show adopting healthy habits can improve cognitive decline
Outstanding postdoctoral researchers honored with 2025 Blavatnik Regional Awards for Young Scientists
Fly through Gaia’s 3D map of stellar nurseries
Precision targeting of the centromedian nucleus in drug-resistant epilepsy highlighted in brain network disorders
Better understanding of bitter taste receptors: An AlphaFold3-based structure study
Artificial intelligence spots hidden signs of depression in students’ facial expressions
[Press-News.org] Burmese python genome reveals extreme adaptationOffers key insights into nature of evolution