Rapid venom evolution in pit vipers may be defensive
Monday, July 18, 2011 - 16:00
in Biology & Nature
Research published recently in PLoS One delivers new insight about rapid toxin evolution in venomous snakes: pitvipers such as rattlesnakes may be engaged in an arms race with opossums, a group of snake-eating American marsupials. Although some mammals have long been known to eat venomous snakes, this fact has not been factored into previous explanations for the rapid evolution of snake venom. Instead, snake venom is usually seen as a feeding, or trophic, adaptation. But new molecular research on snake-eating opossums by researchers affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History suggests that predators factor into the rapid evolution of snake venom.
Read the whole article on Physorg
More from Physorg
Related
- Rapid venom evolution in pit vipers may be defensiveMon, 18 Jul 2011, 17:03:07 EDT
- Study of isolated snakes could help shed light on venom compositionWed, 16 Sep 2009, 11:25:59 EDT
- Biting back - snake venom contains toxic clotting factorsWed, 27 Feb 2013, 10:37:47 EST
- Venomous sea snakes play heads or tails with their predatorsWed, 5 Aug 2009, 20:49:29 EDT
- Snake venom studies yield insights for development of therapies for heart disease and cancerThu, 29 Jul 2010, 18:09:05 EDT