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https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/21967
Title: | Widespread convergence in toxin resistance by predictable molecular evolution | Contributor(s): | Ujvari, Beata (author); Casewell, Nicholas R (author); Madsen, Thomas (author); Hillis, David M (editor); Sunagar, Kartik (author); Arbuckle, Kevin (author); Wuster, Wolfgang (author); Lo, Nathan (author); O'Meally, Denis (author); Beckmann, Christa (author) ; King, Glenn F (author); Deplazes, Evelyne (author) | Publication Date: | 2015 | Open Access: | Yes | DOI: | 10.1073/pnas.1511706112 | Handle Link: | https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/21967 | Abstract: | The question about whether evolution is unpredictable and stochastic or intermittently constrained along predictable pathways is the subject of a fundamental debate in biology, in which understanding convergent evolution plays a central role. At the molecular level, documented examples of convergence are rare and limited to occurring within specific taxonomic groups. Here we provide evidence of constrained convergent molecular evolution across the metazoan tree of life. We show that resistance to toxic cardiac glycosides produced by plants and bufonid toads is mediated by similar molecular changes to the sodium-potassium-pump (Na+/K+-ATPase) in insects, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. In toad-feeding reptiles, resistance is conferred by two point mutations that have evolved convergently on four occasions, whereas evidence of a molecular reversal back to the susceptible state in varanid lizards migrating to toad-free areas suggests that toxin resistance is maladaptive in the absence of selection. Importantly, resistance in all taxa is mediated by replacements of 2 of the 12 amino acids comprising the Na+/K+-ATPase H1–H2 extracellular domain that constitutes a core part of the cardiac glycoside binding site. We provide mechanistic insight into the basis of resistance by showing that these alterations perturb the interaction between the cardiac glycoside bufalin and the Na+/K+-ATPase. Thus, similar selection pressures have resulted in convergent evolution of the same molecular solution across the breadth of the animal kingdom, demonstrating how a scarcity of possible solutions to a selective challenge can lead to highly predictable evolutionary responses. | Publication Type: | Journal Article | Source of Publication: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(38), p. 11911-11916 | Publisher: | National Academy of Sciences | Place of Publication: | United States of America | ISSN: | 1091-6490 0027-8424 |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: | 060809 Vertebrate Biology 060802 Animal Cell and Molecular Biology 060806 Animal Physiological Ecology |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: | 310914 Vertebrate biology 310902 Animal cell and molecular biology 310907 Animal physiological ecology |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: | 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences | Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: | 280102 Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences | Peer Reviewed: | Yes | HERDC Category Description: | C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal |
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Appears in Collections: | Journal Article |
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