# Hologenomics Reveals Specialized Dietary Adaptations in the Mengla Snail‐Eating Snake

## TL;DR

The study explores how the Mengla snail-eating snake evolved specialized adaptations for snail consumption through genomic and microbial changes.

## Contribution

The research reveals how genomic and microbial interactions drive dietary specialization in a non-mammalian species.

## Key findings

- The snake evolved infralabial glands secreting toxins and digestive enzymes to aid in snail predation and digestion.
- Adaptive evolution in the host genome and gut microbiota addresses nutritional and digestive challenges of snail consumption.
- Functional convergence in microbial gene functions is observed between reptiles and mammals, suggesting parallel evolutionary pathways.

## Abstract

Serpents, as highly adaptable vertebrates, provide robust models for studying the mechanisms of dietary specialization. Using an integrative multi‐omics approach, encompassing host genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, gut metagenomic, and enzymatic analyses, the mechanisms underlying dietary adaptations in the Mengla snail‐eating snake (Pareas menglaensis), a species specialized in consuming snails is investigated. Adaptations supporting this diet included evolution of infralabial glands secreting toxin homologs and digestive enzymes, facilitating molluscan predation and digestion. This specialization has driven adaptive evolution in the host genome and shaped the gut microbiota, addressing both nutritional challenges (e.g., lipid deficiency) and digestive requirements (e.g., mucus degradation) associated with snail consumption. Notably, the functional convergence in microbial gene functions between reptiles and mammals highlights parallel evolutionary pathways in dietary specialization. These findings elucidate the genomic foundations of dietary specialization in P. menglaensis, offering broader insights into evolutionary adaptation within a holobiome framework.

Dietary adaptation studies from a holobiome perspective are scarce beyond mammals. This research reveals how genomic and microbial interactions drive dietary specialization in the Mengla snail‐eating snake, with evidence of gut symbiont convergence between reptiles and mammals. These findings broaden the understanding of cross‐species dietary adaptations and emphasize the hologenome's key role in evolution.