Snake venom genomics provides important insights

New insights into chromosome evolution, venom regulation in snakes

How do snake genomes direct the production of deadly venom toxins and other key extreme features of snakes?

Snake genomes encode the secrets to their unique and often extreme adaptations, but genome resources for snakes and other reptiles have lagged behind their mammal and bird counterparts.

In a new paper, a team of biologists led by Todd Castoe, associate professor of biology at The University of Texas at Arlington, addressed these questions by generating and analyzing the first most complete chromosome-level genome for a snake – the prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis). Their work, “The origins and evolution of chromosomes, dosage compensation, and mechanisms underlying venom regulation in snakes,” is published in the April issue of Genome Research, the scientific journal published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.