Abstract
Snake genome sequencing is in its infancy—very much behind the progress made in sequencing the genomes of humans, model organisms and pathogens relevant to biomedical research, and agricultural species. We provide here an overview of some of the snake genome projects in progress, and discuss the biological findings, with special emphasis on toxinology, from the small number of draft snake genomes already published. We discuss the future of snake genomics, pointing out that new sequencing technologies will help overcome the problem of repetitive sequences in assembling snake genomes. Genome sequences are also likely to be valuable in examining the clustering of toxin genes on the chromosomes, in designing recombinant antivenoms and in studying the epigenetic regulation of toxin gene expression.
Highlights
The sequencing of animal genomes is uncovering a treasure trove of biological information.Genomes can be defined in various ways
Toxins 2016, 8, 360 interest from a biologists in several sub-disciplines [8]. This interest in snake genomes stems from the medical importance of snakebite in many developing countries [9], the potential for finding novel drugs and other bioactive compounds in venoms [10] and, from the perspective of fundamental research, the extraordinary array of evolutionary novelties found in snakes [11,12]
Predicted gene sequences can be used in a host of applications and analyses, ranging from the design of probes for in situ hybridization [26], to searches for genes under positive or negative selection, as inferred by the dN /dS ratio [36]. The latter analyses have shown that multiple genes are under selection in snakes, or in clades within the snakes, including some venom toxin genes [3] and developmental genes possibly connected to development of the serpentiform body plan [2]
Summary
The sequencing of animal genomes is uncovering a treasure trove of biological information. The genome may be sequenced in its entirety via whole genome sequencing [2,3]. It may be more practical for some research questions to sequence only the region of interest, using a ‘targeted capture’ approach [4]. Genome sequencing has tended to focus on Homo sapiens and there are reportedly plans to sequence 2 million human genomes for biomedical research objectives including personalized medicine [6]. The genomes of many animal species used as models in biomedical research, or reared in agriculture, have been sequenced. The genomes of non-model species have received far less attention there are plans to sequence many thousands of vertebrate genome in the near future [7]
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