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Mice and even humans have the potential to become poisonous, research shows – giving new meaning to describing a person as a toxic person.
Scientists have discovered that the genetic basis for the evolution of oral venom is present in reptiles and mammals, and said their study shows the first concrete evidence of a link between the venom glands in snakes and salivary glands in mammals.
The research, published in the journal PNAS, indicates that while neither humans nor mice are currently poisonous, our genomes have the potential under certain ecological conditions.
Study author Agneesh Barua joked, “It definitely gives a toxic person a whole new meaning.”
He described the venom as “a cocktail of proteins” used by animals to immobilize and kill prey, as well as for self-defense.
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For their research, instead of focusing on the genes that code for the proteins that make up the toxic mixture, scientists at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) and the Australian National University looked for genes which work in parallel and interact with the venom genes.
They used venom glands from the habu snake of Taiwan – a pit viper found in Asia – and identified around 3,000 of these “cooperating” genes, noting that they played an important role in protecting cells from stress. caused by the production of a lot of protein.
The researchers also looked at the genomes of other creatures, including mammals like dogs, chimpanzees, and humans, and found that they contained their own versions of these genes.
After studying salivary gland tissue in mammals, they saw that the genes had a pattern of activity similar to that seen in snake venom glands – concluding as well that the salivary glands of mammals and the venom glands of snakes share an ancient functional core.
Mr Barua said: “Many scientists intuitively believed this to be true, but this is the first real solid evidence for the theory that venom glands evolved from early salivary glands.
“While snakes then went mad, incorporating many different toxins into their venom and increasing the number of genes involved in venom production, mammals like shrews produce a simpler venom that has a strong similarity to saliva.
He said experiments in the 1980s showed that male mice “produce highly toxic compounds in their saliva when injected into rats.”
He added, “If under certain ecological conditions mice that produce more toxic proteins in their saliva have better reproductive success, then in a few thousand years we might encounter poisonous mice.”
He added that while it is unlikely that the right ecological conditions ever existed, humans also have the potential to become poisonous.
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