Dissertation Research: Intra- and Interspecific Variability in Neurotoxin Resistance: A Study of Coevolution between Grasshopper Mice and Bark Scorpions

本研究以南方蚱蜢鼠（Onychomys torridus）和树皮蝎（Centruroides exilicauda）为模型，验证了捕食者和有毒猎物之间的种间相互作用将导致行为和生理适应，从而调节它们的相互作用（即共同进化）的假设。蝗虫小鼠神经毒素抗性变异的种内和种间模式将与树皮蝎毒液的地理变异进行比较。酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）将用于筛选野生小鼠群体的血清样本，以检测和量化树皮蝎毒液中优先结合脊椎动物神经毒素的抗体。定量结合神经毒素的抗体将为估计同域种群中小鼠和蝎子之间相互作用的频率和强度提供一种工具。这项研究首次尝试从进化的角度来理解脊椎动物神经毒素在Centruroides复合体中的存在和复杂性。

This study employs the southern grasshopper mouse (Onychomys torridus) and the bark scorpion (Centruroides exilicauda) as a model to test the hypothesis that interspecific interaction between a predator and a toxic prey will result in behavioral and physiological adaptations that mediate their interaction (i.e., coevolution). Intra- and interspecific patterns of variability in neurotoxin resistance in grasshopper mice will be compared with geographic variability in bark scorpion venoms. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) will be used to screen serum samples in wild populations of mice in order to detect and quantify antibodies that preferentially bind to the vertebrate neurotoxins in bark scorpion venom. Quantification of antibodies that bind neurotoxins would provide a tool for estimating the frequency and intensity of interaction between mice and scorpions in sympatric populations. This research represents the first attempt to understand, from an evolutionary perspective, the presence and complexity of vertebrate neurotoxins in the Centruroides complex.