Kaas Ballard / Biology / Faculty Mentor: Todd Castoe
The evolution of gene regulatory networks is a critical step in the evolution of novel traits. Snake venoms represent a powerful tool for the study of network evolution due to the large, yet tractable number of genes and gene families involved and the strong effect on snake fitness. A key gap and underappreciated complexity we have in our understanding of the regulatory network is the role that microRNAs (miRNAs) may play. Using integrated RNA-Seq, venom protein mass spectroscopy, and small RNA-Seq from three species of rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis viridis, C. oreganus lutosus, and C. o. concolor), we find that miRNA expression is intra- and inter-specifically variable. Leveraging this variation, we detect subset of miRNAs that likely decrease the efficiency of translation, as well as a second set of miRNAs that likely decrease mRNA expression prior to translation. We also find that the probability of VG expression decreases as the number of miRNAs that target them increases. Furthermore, these findings indicate a remarkably complex network between miRNAs and target venom genes, though these findings need further bioinformatic and biochemical work to confirm.
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