AI Article Synopsis
- Amphibians have developed a unique method for delivering toxins to predators that goes beyond traditional physical structures like fangs or stingers.
- The study reveals that skin-secreted peptides help open up the predator's oral tissue, allowing toxins to enter the bloodstream quickly.
- This adaptation is observed in at least three different frog lineages and may play a significant role in predator-prey interactions across many species.
Article Abstract
Animals using toxic peptides and proteins for predation or defense typically depend on specialized morphological structures, like fangs, spines, or a stinger, for effective intoxication. Here we show that amphibian poisons instead incorporate their own molecular system for toxin delivery to attacking predators. Skin-secreted peptides, generally considered part of the amphibian immune system, permeabilize oral epithelial tissue and enable fast access of cosecreted toxins to the predator's bloodstream and organs. This absorption-enhancing system exists in at least three distantly related frog lineages and is likely to be a widespread adaptation, determining the outcome of predator-prey encounters in hundreds of species.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5686178 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-01710-1 | DOI Listing |
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