Lacewing Venom: Linking molecular and phenotypic evolution

Informations

Funding country

Norway

Acronym

-

URL

-

Start date

1/1/2019

End date

12/31/2025

Budget

980,064 EUR

Fundings

Abstract

This project seeks to improve our understanding of how species evolve, which is a central question in biology. A major challenge in understanding evolution stems from the fact that most traits are encoded by many genes with many different or even unknown roles. Identifying how changes in a trait, or "phenotype", result from changes at the genetic level is therefore often an extremely complex task. A solution to this problem lies in animal venoms. Venoms are evolutionary innovations that move the fight for survival from the physical to the chemical domain, and consist of numerous toxins that have evolved from molecules that perform "everyday" physiological tasks. These toxins are often extremely potent and selective, and have shown promise as a source of potential drugs and pesticides. It is also the combined activities of these toxins that achieve the toxicity, or phenotype, of the venom. However, compared to the number of genes contributing to most other traits, the number of toxins contained in most venoms is relatively small, and this means venoms are great for studying how changes on a phenotypic level results from changes on a molecular level. Venom has evolved on numerous occasions throughout the animal kingdom, but only a few of these animal lineages have been studied. Most of these unstudied venoms are hidden in plain sight, including the insect order Neuroptera, which include the lacewings and relatives. While all neuropteran adults are non-venomous, most have venomous larvae that use venom to capture, paralyse, and liquefy prey. This project is providing the first insight into the composition and evolution of lacewing venoms, will likely lead to the discovery of novel bioactive molecules with potential for development into pesticides and drugs. It will also, for the first time, study how venom phenotypes evolve in response to changes at the molecular level, thereby addressing a major challenge in evolutionary biology. Our results to date demonstrate that these venoms are comprised largely of proteins and peptides that are not similar to any previously characterised types of proteins, and that there is a large toxin diversity contained in the venoms of lacewings. We have also identified several of the genetic mechanisms underlying the toxin diversity of the common green lacewing, many of which have not previously been shown to play a significant role in generating the toxin arsenal of animal venoms.