cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/43345

Poison frogs are small and brightly colored amphibians that originate from Central and South America. As suggested by their name, these frogs can release highly toxic chemicals from their skin, which deter and neutralize predators.

The toxins released by poison frogs, known as alkaloids, are derived from their diet in the wild, which consists of specific ants, mites, millipedes, and beetles. The animals absorb and store alkaloids via a process called sequestration, in some cases modifying them to further increase their toxicity.

Researchers at University of California-Berkeley, University of São Paulo, John Carroll University, Butantan Institute, and Osaka Metropolitan University recently carried out a study investigating the evolution of the sequestration process in poison frogs. Their findings, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, suggest that the process developed gradually over time, as opposed to suddenly appearing, with poison frogs slowly adapting to increasingly toxic diets and environments.

"Poison frogs are remarkable organisms because they acquire alkaloid toxins from their diet, which is composed mainly of ants and mites," Ralph Saporito, senior author of the paper, told Phys.org. "They rely on these ingested and accumulated alkaloids (a process we call 'sequestration') to defend themselves against predators."

"Until very recently, the sister groups of these poison frogs were thought to lack the ability to sequester alkaloids. This led to our central question: How did this complex ability evolve?" added Adriana Moriguchi Jeckel, first author of the paper.

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