Meeting Abstract

P1-108   -   Toxic Associations: Exploring toxin diversity among clownfish hosting sea anemones Statile, KA*; Powell, E; Treese, J; Broems, L; Daly, M; Macrander, JC; Florida Southern College; Florida Southern College; Florida Southern College; Florida Southern College; The Ohio State University; Florida Southern College statilek@gmail.com

The symbiotic relationship shared between clownfish and sea anemones are a unique evolutionary phenomenon. This mutualistic interaction has likely played a major role in the co-evolution of sea anemone venom composition and toxin gene expression. To examine toxin diversity between clownfish hosting and non-hosting anemones, we use a comparative transcriptomic approach to identify deviations among toxin assemblages in four species of sea anemone. Our comparative transcriptomic approach used the bioinformatic pipeline Venomix, identifying between 745 - 1427 toxin candidate transcripts per species, representing more than a two dozen characterized toxin gene groups. Among these, cumulative expression levels indicated that about a dozen were highly expressed in each species, however, the majority of toxin candidates represented poorly characterized toxin gene families in sea anemones. Overall, our approach identified key differences in toxin gene family abundances. However, a broader phylogenetic comparison and characterization in the presence/absence of symbionts would further our understanding of evolutionary processes shaping venom composition and expression.