Meeting Abstract
The role of venom with respect to ecological interactions is an active area of research. For instance, varying ecological conditions can alter the composition and expression of venoms between populations and even within individuals. Some species compartmentalize venoms for specific purposes into distinct structures, such defensive and predatory venoms within the ducts of cone snails or varied venom expression in the competitive structures of sea anemones. Cnidarians (jellyfish, hydroids, corals, etc.) are the earliest diverging venomous animals and display extremely diverse life history characteristics. Yet, little is known about their venom composition with respect to biological or ecological roles. Hydractiniid hydrozoans are an ideal system to study influences of ecological function on venom composition due to their functionally specialized tissue types and complex life cycles. The hydractiniid Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus displays a division of labor among the polyps in a colony: gastrozooids (feeding, digestion), dactylozoids (defense, predation), and gonozooids (reproduction). How does venom composition vary between the functionally distinct tissues within H. symbiolongicarpus? Using existing RNA-seq data from the different polyp types, we characterized the putative venom composition and expression between these tissues. We also determined the nematocyte (stinging cell) distribution between each polyp. By comparing RNA-seq and nematocyte distribution data between functionally specific tissues of H. symbiolongicarpus, we show that different venom arsenals correlate with specific functions and hypothesize that some venoms may be nematocyte-type specific (an ongoing question in cnidarian biology).
