@misc{ZancolliBakerBarlowetal.2016,
  author    = {Zancolli, Giulia and Baker, Timothy G. and Barlow, Axel and Bradley, Rebecca K. and Calvete, Juan J. and Carter, Kimberley C. and de Jager, Kaylah and Owens, John Benjamin and Price, Jenny Forrester and Sanz, Libia and Scholes-Higham, Amy and Shier, Liam and Wood, Liam and W{\"u}ster, Catharine E. and W{\"u}ster, Wolfgang},
  title     = {Is hybridization a source of adaptive venom variation in rattlesnakes?},
  series = {Toxins},
  journal   = {Toxins},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-407595},
  pages     = {16},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Venomous snakes often display extensive variation in venom composition both between and within species. However, the mechanisms underlying the distribution of different toxins and venom types among populations and taxa remain insufficiently known. Rattlesnakes (Crotalus, Sistrurus) display extreme inter-and intraspecific variation in venom composition, centered particularly on the presence or absence of presynaptically neurotoxic phospholipases A2 such as Mojave toxin (MTX). Interspecific hybridization has been invoked as a mechanism to explain the distribution of these toxins across rattlesnakes, with the implicit assumption that they are adaptively advantageous. Here, we test the potential of adaptive hybridization as a mechanism for venom evolution by assessing the distribution of genes encoding the acidic and basic subunits of Mojave toxin across a hybrid zone between MTX-positive Crotalus scutulatus and MTX-negative C. viridis in southwestern New Mexico, USA. Analyses of morphology, mitochondrial and single copy-nuclear genes document extensive admixture within a narrow hybrid zone. The genes encoding the two MTX subunits are strictly linked, and found in most hybrids and backcrossed individuals, but not in C. viridis away from the hybrid zone. Presence of the genes is invariably associated with presence of the corresponding toxin in the venom. We conclude that introgression of highly lethal neurotoxins through hybridization is not necessarily favored by natural selection in rattlesnakes, and that even extensive hybridization may not lead to introgression of these genes into another species.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{ZancolliBakerBarlowetal.2016,
  author    = {Zancolli, Giulia and Baker, Timothy G. and Barlow, Axel and Bradley, Rebecca K. and Calvete, Juan J. and Carter, Kimberley C. and de Jager, Kaylah and Owens, John Benjamin and Price, Jenny Forrester and Sanz, Libia and Scholes-Higham, Amy and Shier, Liam and Wood, Liam and W{\"u}ster, Catharine E. and W{\"u}ster, Wolfgang},
  title     = {Is Hybridization a Source of Adaptive Venom Variation in Rattlesnakes? A Test, Using a Crotalus scutulatus x viridis Hybrid Zone in Southwestern New Mexico},
  series = {Toxins},
  volume    = {8},
  journal   = {Toxins},
  publisher = {MDPI},
  address   = {Basel},
  issn      = {2072-6651},
  doi       = {10.3390/toxins8060188},
  pages     = {16},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Venomous snakes often display extensive variation in venom composition both between and within species. However, the mechanisms underlying the distribution of different toxins and venom types among populations and taxa remain insufficiently known. Rattlesnakes (Crotalus, Sistrurus) display extreme inter-and intraspecific variation in venom composition, centered particularly on the presence or absence of presynaptically neurotoxic phospholipases A2 such as Mojave toxin (MTX). Interspecific hybridization has been invoked as a mechanism to explain the distribution of these toxins across rattlesnakes, with the implicit assumption that they are adaptively advantageous. Here, we test the potential of adaptive hybridization as a mechanism for venom evolution by assessing the distribution of genes encoding the acidic and basic subunits of Mojave toxin across a hybrid zone between MTX-positive Crotalus scutulatus and MTX-negative C. viridis in southwestern New Mexico, USA. Analyses of morphology, mitochondrial and single copy-nuclear genes document extensive admixture within a narrow hybrid zone. The genes encoding the two MTX subunits are strictly linked, and found in most hybrids and backcrossed individuals, but not in C. viridis away from the hybrid zone. Presence of the genes is invariably associated with presence of the corresponding toxin in the venom. We conclude that introgression of highly lethal neurotoxins through hybridization is not necessarily favored by natural selection in rattlesnakes, and that even extensive hybridization may not lead to introgression of these genes into another species.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{WusterChirioTrapeetal.2018,
  author    = {Wuster, Wolfgang and Chirio, Laurent and Trape, Jean-Francois and Ineich, Ivan and Jackson, Kate and Greenbaum, Eli and Barron, Cesar and Kusamba, Chifundera and Nagy, Zoltan T. and Storey, Richard and Hall, Cara and Wuster, Catharine E. and Barlow, Axel and Broadley, Donald G.},
  title     = {Integration of nuclear and mitochondrial gene sequences and morphology reveals unexpected diversity in the forest cobra (Naja melanoleuca) species complex in Central and West Africa (Serpentes: Elapidae)},
  series = {Zootaxa : an international journal of zootaxonomy ; a rapid international journal for animal taxonomists},
  volume    = {4455},
  journal   = {Zootaxa : an international journal of zootaxonomy ; a rapid international journal for animal taxonomists},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Magnolia Press},
  address   = {Auckland},
  issn      = {1175-5326},
  doi       = {10.11646/zootaxa.4455.1.3},
  pages     = {68 -- 98},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {Cobras are among the most widely known venomous snakes, and yet their taxonomy remains incompletely understood, particularly in Africa. Here, we use a combination of mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences and morphological data to diagnose species limits within the African forest cobra, Naja (Boulengerina) melanoleuca. Mitochondrial DNA sequences reveal deep divergences within this taxon. Congruent patterns of variation in mtDNA, nuclear genes and morphology support the recognition of five separate species, confirming the species status of N. subfulva and N. peroescobari, and revealing two previously unnamed West African species, which are described as new: Naja (Boulengerina) guineensis sp. nov. Broadley, Trape, Chirio, Ineich \& Wuster, from the Upper Guinea forest of West Africa, and Naja (Boulengerina) savannula sp. nov. Broadley, Trape, Chirio \& Wuster, a banded form from the savanna-forest mosaic of the Guinea and Sudanian savannas of West Africa. The discovery of cryptic diversity in this iconic group highlights our limited understanding of tropical African biodiversity, hindering our ability to conserve it effectively.},
  language  = {en}
}