The Tiger Rattlesnake possesses the simplest, yet most toxic venom of any rattlesnake species, and now new research from a team lead by a University of South Florida biologist can explain the genetics behind the predator’s fearsome bite.
The Tiger Rattlesnake possesses the simplest, yet most toxic venom of any rattlesnake species, and now new research from a team lead by a University of South Florida biologist can explain the genetics behind the predator’s fearsome bite.
Published in the new edition of “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,” USF Department of Integrative Biology Assistant Professor Mark Margres and colleagues across the southeastern United States have sequenced the genome of the Tiger Rattlesnake to understand the genotype of the venom trait. Despite the simplicity of the Tiger Rattlesnake’s venom, Margres says it is roughly 40 times more toxic than the venom of the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes here in Florida.
Their work is the most complete characterization of the venom gene-regulatory network to date and its identification of key mechanisms in producing the particularly toxic venom will help scientists explain a wide array of genetic questions.
Read more at: University of South Florida
Mark Margres photographs an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake at Caladesi Island, Florida. (Photo Credit: University of South Florida
