TY - JOUR
T1 - New insight on scorpion divergence inferred from comparative analysis of toxin structure, pharmacology and distribution
AU - Froy, Oren
AU - Gurevitz, Michael
N1 - Funding Information:
We acknowledge support from BARD, The United States-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development (IS-2901-97C); The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities (466/97); and Biotechnology Infrastructure Program of the Israeli Ministry of Science. We would like to thank D. Gordon for her critical reviewing of the manuscript.
PY - 2003/10
Y1 - 2003/10
N2 - The divergence of Buthidae, the most abundant family of scorpions, has relied thus far on anatomical and morphological features, but still remains controversial. However, much information has accumulated on Buthidae long-chain scorpion toxins affecting neuronal sodium channel conductance (α- and β-toxins) and their pharmacology. Therefore, we constructed a toxin evolutionary tree, which together with recent data on toxin gene organization, toxin structures, and worldwide dispersion, sheds light on toxin and hence, scorpion divergence. Based on these data, we suggest that in the ancient world, the ancestral long-chain toxins affecting sodium channels developed into β-like toxins, which most likely developed into α- and β-toxins before the separation of South America from Africa. Subsequently, in the Old World, mostly excitatory and depressant toxins developed from the ancestral β-like toxin and in the New World a new type of toxin group with β-toxin structure but α-toxin activity developed from the β-toxins. Assisted by the worldwide distribution of toxins and the zoogeographical dispersion of the studied genera in Asia and Africa (Old World) and in South and North America (New World), we suggest a route of divergence for some of the Buthidae scorpions, a task that has reached a standstill when morphological and anatomical features were used.
AB - The divergence of Buthidae, the most abundant family of scorpions, has relied thus far on anatomical and morphological features, but still remains controversial. However, much information has accumulated on Buthidae long-chain scorpion toxins affecting neuronal sodium channel conductance (α- and β-toxins) and their pharmacology. Therefore, we constructed a toxin evolutionary tree, which together with recent data on toxin gene organization, toxin structures, and worldwide dispersion, sheds light on toxin and hence, scorpion divergence. Based on these data, we suggest that in the ancient world, the ancestral long-chain toxins affecting sodium channels developed into β-like toxins, which most likely developed into α- and β-toxins before the separation of South America from Africa. Subsequently, in the Old World, mostly excitatory and depressant toxins developed from the ancestral β-like toxin and in the New World a new type of toxin group with β-toxin structure but α-toxin activity developed from the β-toxins. Assisted by the worldwide distribution of toxins and the zoogeographical dispersion of the studied genera in Asia and Africa (Old World) and in South and North America (New World), we suggest a route of divergence for some of the Buthidae scorpions, a task that has reached a standstill when morphological and anatomical features were used.
KW - Missing links
KW - Neurotoxins
KW - Scorpion divergence
KW - Structure
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=1542391730&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0041-0101(03)00236-8
DO - 10.1016/S0041-0101(03)00236-8
M3 - ???researchoutput.researchoutputtypes.contributiontojournal.article???
AN - SCOPUS:1542391730
SN - 0041-0101
VL - 42
SP - 549
EP - 555
JO - Toxicon
JF - Toxicon
IS - 5
ER -