Figure 4
The expression of phospholipases A 2 was uniform across transcripts in Micrurus fulvius . The phospholipase A2 (PLA2) gene family was characterized by an even distribution of expression levels. A homologous toxin sequence from the eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) was used as an outgroup to root the phylogeny. The root branch was shortened for visual clarity and is indicated by the dashed line. Bayesian posterior probability values exceeding 50% are shown. Adjacent bars indicate expression levels relative to the most highly expressed member of the class, with a completely filled bar indicating the most highly expressed transcript of the class. (A) A maximum-likelihood phylogeny of M. fulvius PLA2 clusters under the SYM+G model. PLA2 expression levels were much more evenly distributed throughout the class in comparison to 3FTx transcript expression levels (Figure 4). (B) A maximum-likelihood phylogeny of M. fulvius transcripts identified in this study as well as orthologous PLA2 transcripts from M. corallinus and M. altirostris under the SYM+G model. Tips are color-coded by species. The sub-clade containing the M. altirostris transcripts again suggests divergence among toxins may occur following speciation events.