van Thiel, Jory, Khan, Muzaffar A., Wouters, Roel M., Harris, Richard J., Casewell, Nicholas R., Fry, Bryan G., Kini, R. Manjunatha, Mackessy, Stephen P., Vonk, Freek J., Wüster, Wolfgang, and Richardson, Michael K. (2022) Convergent evolution of toxin resistance in animals. Biological Reviews, 97 (5). pp. 1823-1843.

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Abstract

Convergence is the phenomenon whereby similar phenotypes evolve independently in different lineages. One example is resistance to toxins in animals. Toxins have evolved many times throughout the tree of life. They disrupt molecular and physiological pathways in target species, thereby incapacitating prey or deterring a predator. In response, molecular resistance has evolved in many species exposed to toxins to counteract their harmful effects. Here, we review current knowledge on the convergence of toxin resistance using examples from a wide range of toxin families. We explore the evolutionary processes and molecular adaptations driving toxin resistance. However, resistance adaptations may carry a fitness cost if they disrupt the normal physiology of the resistant animal. Therefore, there is a trade-off between maintaining a functional molecular target and reducing toxin susceptibility. There are relatively few solutions that satisfy this trade-off. As a result, we see a small set of molecular adaptations appearing repeatedly in diverse animal lineages, a phenomenon that is consistent with models of deterministic evolution. Convergence may also explain what has been called ‘autoresistance’. This is often thought to have evolved for self-protection, but we argue instead that it may be a consequence of poisonous animals feeding on toxic prey. Toxin resistance provides a unique and compelling model system for studying the interplay between trophic interactions, selection pressures and the molecular mechanisms underlying evolutionary novelties.

Item ID:	84124
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1469-185X
Keywords:	convergent evolution, toxin resistance, molecular adaptation, functional constraint, deterministic evolution, co-evolutionary arms races
Copyright Information:	© 2022 The Authors. Biological Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Cambridge Philosophical Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
Date Deposited:	24 Jan 2025 03:45
FoR Codes:	31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3101 Biochemistry and cell biology > 310199 Biochemistry and cell biology not elsewhere classified @ 50% 31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3104 Evolutionary biology > 310405 Evolutionary ecology @ 50%
SEO Codes:	28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280102 Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences @ 100%
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