Toxin variation among salamander populations:discussing potential causes and future directions  

作　　者：Gilles DE MEESTER EminaŠUNJE Els PRINSEN Erik VERBRUGGEN Raoul VANDAMME 

机构地区：[1]Department of Biology,Functional Morphology Group,University of Antwerp,Wilrijk,Belgium [2]Department of Biology,Faculty of Natural Sciences,University of Sarajevo,Sarajevo,Bosnia-Hercegovina [3]Herpetological Association in Bosnia and Herzegovina:BHHU:ATRA,Sarajevo,Bosnia-Hercegovina [4]Department of Biology,Impress,University of Antwerp,Wilrijk,Belgium [5]Department of Biology,Plant and Ecosystems,University of Antwerp,Wilrijk,Belgium

出　　处：《Integrative Zoology》2021年第3期336-353,共18页整合动物学（英文版）

基　　金：This research was funded by the Federal Ministry of Environmental Protection and Tourism in Sarajevo(grant to ES,grant ID:04-23-1105-IV/16-65-1);by the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Flandres through a Ph.D.fellowship(to GDM,grant ID:1144118N).

摘　　要：Amphibians produce defensive chemicals which provide protection against both predators and infections.Within species,populations can differ considerably in the composition and amount of these chemical defenses.Studying intraspecific variation in toxins and linking it to environmental variables may help us to identify the selective drivers of toxin evolution,such as predation pressure and infection risk.Recently,there has been a renewed interest in the unique toxins produced by salamanders from the genus Salamandra:the samandarines.Despite this attention,intraspecific variation has largely been ignored within Salamandra-species.The aim of this study was to investigate whether geographic variation in profiles of samandarines exists,by sampling 4 populations of Salamandra atra over its range in the Dinaric Alps.In addition,we preliminary explored whether potential variation could be explained by predation(counting the number of snake species)and infection risk(cultivation and genomic analyses of collected soil samples).Salamanders from the 4 populations differed in toxin composition and in the size of their poison glands,although not in overall toxin quantity.Nor predation nor infection risk could explain this variation,as populations barely differed in these variables.Sampling over a much broader geographic range,using better estimators for predation and infection risk,will contribute to an improved understanding of how environment may shape variation in chemical defenses.Nevertheless,as the 4 populations of S.atra did differ in their toxin profiles,we propose that this species provides an interesting opportunity for further ecological and evolutionary studies on amphibian toxins.

关 键 词：amphibian toxins geographic variation poison glands Salamandra atra samandarines 

分 类 号：Q95[生物学—动物学]