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Widespread convergence in toxin resistance by predictable molecular evolution

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Version 2 2024-06-05, 07:51
Version 1 2015-11-09, 16:58
journal contribution
posted on 2024-06-05, 07:51 authored by Beata UjvariBeata Ujvari, NR Casewell, K Sunagar, K Arbuckle, W Wüster, N Lo, D O'Meally, Christa BeckmannChrista Beckmann, GF King, E Deplazes, T Madsen
The question about whether evolution is unpredictable and stochastic or intermittently constrained along predictable pathways is the subject of a fundamental debate in biology, in which understanding convergent evolution plays a central role. At the molecular level, documented examples of convergence are rare and limited to occurring within specific taxonomic groups. Here we provide evidence of constrained convergent molecular evolution across the metazoan tree of life. We show that resistance to toxic cardiac glycosides produced by plants and bufonid toads is mediated by similar molecular changes to the sodium-potassium-pump (Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase) in insects, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. In toad-feeding reptiles, resistance is conferred by two point mutations that have evolved convergently on four occasions, whereas evidence of a molecular reversal back to the susceptible state in varanid lizards migrating to toad-free areas suggests that toxin resistance is maladaptive in the absence of selection. Importantly, resistance in all taxa is mediated by replacements of 2 of the 12 amino acids comprising the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase H1-H2 extracellular domain that constitutes a core part of the cardiac glycoside binding site. We provide mechanistic insight into the basis of resistance by showing that these alterations perturb the interaction between the cardiac glycoside bufalin and the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase. Thus, similar selection pressures have resulted in convergent evolution of the same molecular solution across the breadth of the animal kingdom, demonstrating how a scarcity of possible solutions to a selective challenge can lead to highly predictable evolutionary responses.

History

Journal

National Academy of Sciences. Proceedings

Volume

112

Pagination

11911-11916

Location

Washington, D.C.

Open access

  • Yes

eISSN

1091-6490

Language

eng

Publication classification

C Journal article, C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2015, National Academy of Sciences

Issue

38

Publisher

National Academy of Sciences