The evolution of venom and its role in shaping biodiversity

这个项目旨在研究自然界最强大的武器——毒液是如何进化和塑造生物多样性的。以标志性的澳大利亚和新几内亚毒蛇为模型，该项目希望开发一种新的方法来分析博物馆标本中的毒液成分，测试关于毒液进化的相互竞争的假设，并测试毒液进化与物种丰富度和形态多样性进化之间的联系。预期的结果包括建立所有动物群体中最大的毒液数据库，更好地了解毒液是如何进化的，以及它们在地球生物多样性中扮演的角色。生成的毒液数据有可能用于未来的研究，以帮助开发抗毒液和药物。

This project aims to study how venom, nature's most powerful weapon, evolves and shapes biodiversity. Using the iconic Australian and New Guinean venomous snakes as a model, this project expects to develop a novel approach to profile venom composition from museum specimens, test competing hypotheses on the evolution of venoms, and test for the association between the evolution of venoms and the evolution of diversity in species richness and morphology. Expected outcomes include the largest venom database for any animal group and a better understanding of how venoms evolve and what role they play in earth’s biodiversity. The generated venom data has potential to be used in future studies to aid in the development of anti-venoms and drugs.