Domain loss enabled evolution of novel functions in the snake three-finger toxin gene superfamily

Ivan Koludarov (), Tobias Senoner, Timothy N. W. Jackson, Daniel Dashevsky, Michael Heinzinger, Steven D. Aird and Burkhard Rost
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Ivan Koludarov: TUM (Technical University of Munich) Department of Informatics, Bioinformatics & Computational Biology—i12
Tobias Senoner: TUM (Technical University of Munich) Department of Informatics, Bioinformatics & Computational Biology—i12
Timothy N. W. Jackson: University of Melbourne
Daniel Dashevsky: Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation
Michael Heinzinger: TUM (Technical University of Munich) Department of Informatics, Bioinformatics & Computational Biology—i12
Steven D. Aird: 7744-23 Hotaka Ariake
Burkhard Rost: TUM (Technical University of Munich) Department of Informatics, Bioinformatics & Computational Biology—i12

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract Three-finger toxins (3FTXs) are a functionally diverse family of toxins, apparently unique to venoms of caenophidian snakes. Although the ancestral function of 3FTXs is antagonism of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, redundancy conferred by the accumulation of duplicate genes has facilitated extensive neofunctionalization, such that derived members of the family interact with a range of targets. 3FTXs are members of the LY6/UPAR family, but their non-toxin ancestor remains unknown. Combining traditional phylogenetic approaches, manual synteny analysis, and machine learning techniques (including AlphaFold2 and ProtT5), we have reconstructed a detailed evolutionary history of 3FTXs. We identify their immediate ancestor as a non-secretory LY6, unique to squamate reptiles, and propose that changes in molecular ecology resulting from loss of a membrane-anchoring domain and changes in gene expression, paved the way for the evolution of one of the most important families of snake toxins.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40550-0

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