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Evolutionary diversification of TTX-resistant sodium channels in a predator–prey interaction
- Shana L. Geffeney1,
- Esther Fujimoto1 nAff3,
- Edmund D. Brodie III2,
- Edmund D. Brodie Jr1 &
- …
- Peter C. Ruben1
Naturevolume 434, pages759–763 (2005)Cite this article
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Abstract
Understanding the molecular genetic basis of adaptations provides incomparable insight into the genetic mechanisms by which evolutionary diversification takes place. Whether the evolution of common traits in different lineages proceeds by similar or unique mutations, and the degree to which phenotypic evolution is controlled by changes in gene regulation as opposed to gene function, are fundamental questions in evolutionary biology that require such an understanding of genetic mechanisms1,2,3. Here we identify novel changes in the molecular structure of a sodium channel expressed in snake skeletal muscle, tsNaV1.4, that are responsible for differences in tetrodotoxin (TTX) resistance among garter snake populations coevolving with toxic newts4. By the functional expression of tsNaV1.4, we show how differences in the amino-acid sequence of the channel affect TTX binding and impart different levels of resistance in four snake populations. These results indicate that the evolution of a physiological trait has occurred through a series of unique functional changes in a gene that is otherwise highly conserved among vertebrates.
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Acknowledgements
We thank A. Correa for advice regarding the cut-open oocyte voltage clamp; S. Durham for advice regarding the statistical analysis; C. Feldman and M. Pfrender for advice regarding the phylogenetic analysis; J. Caldwell for primers; A. Goldin for sharing his sodium channel sequence alignment; and C. Hanifin and the USU herpetology group for comments that improved the manuscript. This work was supported by research grants from the National Institute of Health (P.C.R.) and from the National Science Foundation (E.D.B. Jr and E.D.B. III).
Author information
Esther Fujimoto
Present address: Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84123-3401, USA
Authors and Affiliations
Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, 84322-5305, USA
Shana L. Geffeney, Esther Fujimoto, Edmund D. Brodie Jr & Peter C. Ruben
Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 47405-3700, USA
Edmund D. Brodie III
- Shana L. Geffeney
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- Esther Fujimoto
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- Edmund D. Brodie III
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- Edmund D. Brodie Jr
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- Peter C. Ruben
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Corresponding author
Correspondence toShana L. Geffeney.
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Supplementary information
Supplementary Figure S1
This figure shows a phylogenetic tree of voltage-gated sodium channels from a maximum-likelihood based, Bayesian analysis. (PDF 73 kb)
Supplementary Figure S2
This figure shows a schematic of the human/snake chimeric channel. (PDF 173 kb)
Supplementary Figure Legends
This file contains the figure legends for Supplementary Figure S1 and Supplementary Figure S2. (DOC 27 kb)
Supplementary Notes
This file contains Supplementary Methods and additional references references. (DOC 52 kb)
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Geffeney, S., Fujimoto, E., Brodie, E.et al. Evolutionary diversification of TTX-resistant sodium channels in a predator–prey interaction.Nature434, 759–763 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03444
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