有毒蜈蚣的进化简史

Venomous（有毒的） creatures usually conjure² up images of hissing³ snakes or stinging scorpions⁴--but for scientists Bryan Fry, et. al., an overlooked group --centipedes-- are all the rage. Centipedes（蜈蚣） prey⁵ on bugs⁶ and other pests by stinging them with venom¹ secreted⁷ from and injected from their first pair of pincer-like legs, called forcipules. In a new paper published in the advanced online edition of Molecular⁸ Biology and Evolution, the research team analyzed⁹ all venom protein and peptide sequences available for centipedes,   Next, they build these sequences into genetic¹⁰ trees to catalog, categorize and reconstruct their evolutionary¹¹ histories.   Overall, they identified a high-diversity of 60 unique venom protein and peptide（缩氨酸） families from just five species investigated. Eleven of these families represented new proteins families, showing novel ways for centipede venom. Others proteins were convergent¹²（会聚性的）, or evolved independently, along with toxins¹⁴ used by spiders and scorpions. The results showed a vast functional¹⁵ diversity of centipede toxins that can significantly aid in the understanding of toxin¹³ evolution. They are also a treasure trove¹⁶（无主珍宝） with a high potential for use in drug design and development.