Uniting life’s seen and unseen realms guides a conceptual advance in research

Over recent decades, global livestock and aquaculture systems have significantly increased protein production, largely driven by advancements in nutrition, h...

A new open-access study reveals that both the genes of Atlantic salmon and the microbes living on their gills play crucial roles in how the fish resist Amoebic Gill Disease - a major health problem in...

Dietary adaptation studies from a holobiome perspective are scarce beyond mammals. This research reveals how genomic and microbial interactions drive dietary specialization in the Mengla snail-eating snake, with evidence of gut symbiont convergence between reptiles and mammals. These findings broaden the understanding of cross-species dietary adaptations and emphasize the hologenome's key role in evolution. Abstract Serpents, as highly adaptable vertebrates, provide robust models for studying the mechanisms of dietary specialization. Using an integrative multi-omics approach, encompassing host genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, gut metagenomic, and enzymatic analyses, the mechanisms underlying dietary adaptations in the Mengla snail-eating snake ( Pareas menglaensis ), a species specialized in consuming snails is investigated. Adaptations supporting this diet included evolution of infralabial glands secreting toxin homologs and digestive enzymes, facilitating molluscan predation and digestion. This specialization has driven adaptive evolution in the host genome and shaped the gut microbiota, addressing both nutritional challenges (e.g., lipid deficiency) and digestive requirements (e.g., mucus degradation) associated with snail consumption. Notably, the functional convergence in microbial gene functions between reptiles and mammals highlights parallel evolutionary pathways in dietary specialization. These findings elucidate the genomic foundations of dietary specialization in P. menglaensis , offering broader insights into evolutionary adaptation within a holobiome framework.

Dietary adaptation studies from a holobiome perspective are scarce beyond mammals. This research reveals how genomic and microbial interactions drive dietary specialization in the Mengla snail-eating....

Background Pacific Whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) is an important model for breeding programs to improve global aquaculture productivity. However, the interaction between host genetics and mic...