Collaborative Research: The Parallel Origin and Evolution of Venom Systems

Different species often arrive at similar solutions to recurring challenges through convergent evolution. Such events provide some of the strongest examples of adaptation, yet understanding the molecular mechanisms and constraints that result in such convergence has only recently become possible due to advances in computing and genomics. Among animals, traits such as flight have arisen independently numerous times (e.g., in lineages giving rise to birds, bats, and insects), defining the ecologies and enabling the success of the resulting species. Similarly, venoms have arisen independently more than 100 times in animals and play diverse roles in, for example, predation and defense. These recurring traits represent optimal systems for investigating the rules and limitations of how evolution can yield complex adaptations, a major open challenge in evolutionary biology. This project will use integrative approaches including AI in multiple venomous animals to understand how complex traits repeatedly arise and evolve. Such an approach will enable not only the identification of how complexity originates but also catalyze future biotechnological innovations in the bioeconomy by uncovering functional solutions to common problems across the Tree of Life. Convergent evolution is a hallmark of adaptation and provides a means for delineating the roles of genetic and functional constraints in determining evolutionary trajectories. Venoms are one of the most common and convergent functions among animals, with more than 200,000 venomous species from more than 100 venom-origin events, and venom function requires recurrent evolution of specialized tissues and gene-regulatory networks to express, process, secrete, and store toxins. Substantial convergence in recruited protein families, tissues of origin, and contributing gene-regulatory networks has been observed, yet venoms are exceptionally variable at all taxonomic levels. Venoms therefore represent a unique opportunity for discerning rules and idiosyncrasies of complex trait origin and subsequent evolution under parallel constraints. Eighteen species representing three independent venom origins in centipedes, scorpions, and snakes will be used to investigate the impacts of deep evolutionary events during trait origins on ongoing complex trait evolution. A hierarchical phylogenetic framework will be used to link macro- and microevolutionary processes, focusing on how deep-origin events bias evolutionary trajectories. Overall, our sampling strategy will allow us to bridge macro- and microevolutionary processes and investigate convergence at multiple biological (genome, tissue, organismal) and phylogenetic (within species, across species, and across lineages) scales, specifically focusing on how trait origin and secondary innovation events influence ongoing evolution among close related species. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. NSF Award ID: 2553795 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Darin Rokyta | Institution: Florida State University, TALLAHASSEE, FL | Award Amount: $899,690 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2553795 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2553795.html