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1. Fruit odorants mediate co-specialization in a multispecies plant–animal mutualism

   https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0312  

   Santana, Sharlene E. ; Kaliszewska, Zofia A. ; Leiser-Miller, Leith B. ; Lauterbur, M. Elise ; Arbour, Jessica H. ; Dávalos, Liliana M. ; Riffell, Jeffrey A. ( August 2021 , Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences)

   null (Ed.)

   Despite the widespread notion that animal-mediated seed dispersal led to the evolution of fruit traits that attract mutualistic frugivores, the dispersal syndrome hypothesis remains controversial, particularly for complex traits such as fruit scent. Here, we test this hypothesis in a community of mutualistic, ecologically important neotropical bats ( Carollia spp.) and plants ( Piper spp.) that communicate primarily via chemical signals. We found greater bat consumption is significantly associated with scent chemical diversity and presence of specific compounds, which fit multi-peak selective regime models in Piper . Through behavioural assays, we found Carollia prefer certain compounds, particularly 2-heptanol, which evolved as a unique feature of two Piper species highly consumed by these bats. Thus, we demonstrate that volatile compounds emitted by neotropical Piper fruits evolved in tandem with seed dispersal by scent-oriented Carollia bats. Specifically, fruit scent chemistry in some Piper species fits adaptive evolutionary scenarios consistent with a dispersal syndrome hypothesis. While other abiotic and biotic processes likely shaped the chemical composition of ripe fruit scent in Piper , our results provide some of the first evidence of the effect of bat frugivory on plant chemical diversity. 

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2. Development and characterization of fourteen novel microsatellite markers for the chestnut short-tailed fruit bat ( Carollia castanea ), and cross-amplification to related species

   https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2465  

   Cleary, Katherine A. ; Waits, Lisette P. ; Hohenlohe, Paul A. ( September 2016 , PeerJ)

   Rapid anthropogenic land use change threatens the primary habitat of the Chestnut short-tailed bat (Carollia castanea) throughout much of its range. Information on population genetic structure can inform management strategies for this widespread frugivorous bat, and effective protection ofC. castaneawill also benefit the more than 20 mutualistic plant species of which this bat is the primary seed disperser. To facilitate understanding of population genetic structure in this species, fourteen novel microsatellite markers were developed using restriction-site-associated DNA libraries and Illumina sequencing and tested on 28 individuals from 13 locations in Costa Rica. These are the first microsatellite markers developed forC. castanea. All loci were polymorphic, with number of alleles ranging from 2–11 and average observed heterozygosity of 0.631. Markers were also cross-amplified in three additional frugivorous bat species threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation: Sowell’s short-tailed bat (Carollia sowelli), Seba’s short-tailed bat (Carollia perspicillata), and the Jamaican fruit bat (Artibeus jamaicensis), and 10, 11, and 8 were polymorphic, respectively.

    

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3. Ecological constraints on highly evolvable olfactory receptor genes and morphology in neotropical bats

   https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14591  

   Yohe, Laurel R. ; Fabbri ; Lee, Daniela ; Davies, Kalina T.J. ; Yohe, Thomas P. ; Sánchez, Miluska K.R. ; Rengifo, Edgardo M. ; Hall, Ronald ; Mutumi, Gregory ; Hedrick, Brandon P. ; et al ( January 2022 , Evolution)

   While evolvability of genes and traits may promote specialization during species diversification, how ecology subsequently restricts such variation remains unclear. Chemosensation requires animals to decipher a complex chemical background to locate fitness-related resources, and thus the underlying genomic architecture and morphology must cope with constant exposure to a changing odorant landscape; detecting adaptation amidst extensive chemosensory diversity is an open challenge. In phyllostomid bats, an ecologically diverse clade that evolved plant-visiting from an insectivorous ancestor, the evolution of novel food detection mechanisms is suggested to be a key innovation, as plant-visiting species rely strongly on olfaction, supplementarily using echolocation. If this is true, exceptional variation in underlying olfactory genes and phenotypes may have preceded dietary diversification. We compared olfactory receptor (OR) genes sequenced from olfactory epithelium transcriptomes and olfactory epithelium surface area of bats with differing diets. Surprisingly, although OR evolution rates were quite variable and generally high, they are largely independent of diet. Olfactory epithelial surface area, however, is relatively larger in plant-visiting bats and there is an inverse relationship between OR evolution rates and surface area. Relatively larger surface areas suggest greater reliance on olfactory detection and stronger constraint on maintaining an already diverse OR repertoire. Instead of the typical case in which specialization and elaboration are coupled with rapid diversification of associated genes, here the relevant genes are already evolving so quickly that increased reliance on smell has led to stabilizing selection, presumably to maintain the ability to consistently discriminate among specific odorants — a potential ecological constraint on sensory evolution. 

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4. Flowering plant immune repertoires expand under mycorrhizal symbiosis

   https://doi.org/10.1002/pld3.125  

   Kramer, Eric M. ; Statter, Samantha A. ; Yi, Ho Jun ; Carlson, Joseph W. ; McClelland, Donald H. R. ( March 2019 , Plant Direct)

   Immune perception in flowering plants is mediated by a repertoire of cytoplasmic and cell‐surface receptors that detect invading microbes and their effects on cells. Here, we show that several large families of immune receptors exhibit size variations related to a plant's competence to host symbiotic root fungi (mycorrhiza). Plants that do not participate in mycorrhizal associations have significantly smaller immune repertoires, while the most promiscuous symbiotic hosts (ectomycorrhizal plant species) have significantly larger immune repertoires. By contrast, we find no significant increase in immune repertoire size among legumes competent to form a symbiosis with nitrogen‐fixing bacteria (rhizobia). To explain these observations, we hypothesize that plant immune repertoire size expands with symbiote species diversity.

    

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5. Data from: "Untargeted Metabolomics Reveals Fruit Secondary Metabolites Alter Bat Nutrient Absorption"

   https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11002933  

   Gelambi, Mariana ; Whitehead, Susan ( January 2024 , Zenodo)

   Data from: Untargeted Metabolomics Reveals Fruit Secondary Metabolites Alter Bat Nutrient Absorption; by Gelambi, M. & Whitehead, S. R. Published in the Journal of Chemical Ecology, 2024. Using a mutualistic fruit bat (Carollia perspicillata), our research explores how four secondary metabolites (piperine, tannin acid, eugenol, and phytol) commonly found in plant tissues affect the foraging behavior and induce changes in the fecal metabolome. In this study, bats were captured and housed in flight cages. Nightly trials exposed them to varying concentrations of secondary metabolites. Objective 1 involved non-choice trials to measure food consumption, while Objective 2 evaluated the impact of metabolite consumption on the bat fecal metabolome. Fecal samples were collected, stored, and later analyzed to understand how secondary metabolites influence bat behavior and metabolism. All the analyses were performed in R v. 4.2.1. 

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