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1. Large‐scale Genome sampling reveals unique immunity and metabolic adaptations in Bats

   https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16027  

   Moreno Santillán, Diana D. ; Lama, Tanya M. ; Gutierrez Guerrero, Yocelyn T. ; Brown, Alexis M. ; Donat, Paul ; Zhao, Huabin ; Rossiter, Stephen J. ; Yohe, Laurel R. ; Potter, Joshua H. ; Teeling, Emma C. ; et al ( January 2021 , Molecular Ecology)

   null (Ed.)

   Comprising more than 1,400 species, bats possess adaptations unique among mammals including powered flight, unexpected longevity, and extraordinary immunity. Some of the molecular mechanisms underlying these unique adaptations includes DNA repair, metabolism and immunity. However, analyses have been limited to a few divergent lineages, reducing the scope of inferences on gene family evolution across the Order Chiroptera. We conducted an exhaustive comparative genomic study of 37 bat species, one generated in this study, encompassing a large number of lineages, with a particular emphasis on multi-gene family evolution across immune and metabolic genes. In agreement with previous analyses, we found lineage-specific expansions of the APOBEC3 and MHC-I gene families, and loss of the proinflammatory PYHIN gene family. We inferred more than 1,000 gene losses unique to bats, including genes involved in the regulation of inflammasome pathways such as epithelial defense receptors, the natural killer gene complex and the interferon-gamma induced pathway. Gene set enrichment analyses revealed genes lost in bats are involved in defense response against pathogen-associated molecular patterns and damage-associated molecular patterns. Gene family evolution and selection analyses indicate bats have evolved fundamental functional differences compared to other mammals in both innate and adaptive immune system, with the potential to enhance anti-viral immune response while dampening inflammatory signaling. In addition, metabolic genes have experienced repeated expansions related to convergent shifts to plant-based diets. Our analyses support the hypothesis that, in tandem with flight, ancestral bats had evolved a unique set of immune adaptations whose functional implications remain to be explored. 

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2. Molecular adaptation and convergent evolution of frugivory in Old World and neotropical fruit bats

   https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15542  

   Wang, Kai ; Tian, Shilin ; Galindo‐González, Jorge ; Dávalos, Liliana M. ; Zhang, Yuzhi ; Zhao, Huabin ( July 2020 , Molecular Ecology)

   Although cases of independent adaptation to the same dietary niche have been documented in mammalian ecology, the molecular correlates of such shifts are seldom known. Here, we used genomewide analyses of molecular evolution to examine two lineages of bats that, from an insectivorous ancestor, have both independently evolved obligate frugivory: the Old World family Pteropodidae and the neotropical subfamily Stenodermatinae. New genome assemblies from two neotropical fruit bats (Artibeus jamaicensisandSturnira hondurensis) provide a framework for comparisons with Old World fruit bats. Comparative genomics of 10 bat species encompassing dietary diversity across the phylogeny revealed convergent molecular signatures of frugivory in both multigene family evolution and single‐copy genes. Evidence for convergent molecular adaptations associated with frugivorous diets includes the composition of three subfamilies of olfactory receptor genes, losses of three bitter taste receptor genes, losses of two digestive enzyme genes and convergent amino acid substitutions in several metabolic genes. By identifying suites of adaptations associated with the convergent evolution of frugivory, our analyses both reveal the extent of molecular mechanisms under selection in dietary shifts and will facilitate future studies of molecular ecology in mammals.

    

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3. Gene Turnover and Diversification of the α- and β-Globin Gene Families in Sauropsid

   Hoffmann, Federico G ; Vandewege, Michael W ; Storz, Jay F. ; Opazo, Juan C. ( January 2018 , Genome biology and evolution)

   The genes that encode the α- and β-chain subunits of vertebrate hemoglobin have served as a model system for elucidating general principles of gene family evolution, but little is known about patterns of evolution in amniotes other than mammals and birds. Here, we report a comparative genomic analysis of the α- and β-globin gene clusters in sauropsids (archosaurs and nonavian reptiles). The objectives were to characterize changes in the size and membership composition of the α- and β-globin gene families within and among the major sauropsid lineages, to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the sauropsid α- and β-globin genes, to resolve orthologous relationships, and to reconstruct evolutionary changes in the developmental regulation of gene expression. Our comparisons revealed contrasting patterns of evolution in the unlinked α- and β-globin gene clusters. In the α-globin gene cluster, which has remained in the ancestral chromosomal location, evolutionary changes in gene content are attributable to the differential retention of paralogous gene copies that were present in the common ancestor of tetrapods. In the β-globin gene cluster, which was translocated to a new chromosomal location, evolutionary changes in gene content are attributable to differential gene gains (via lineage-specific duplication events) and gene losses (via lineage-specific deletions and inactivations). Consequently, all major groups of amniotes possess unique repertoires of embryonic and postnatally expressed β-type globin genes that diversified independently in each lineage. These independently derived β-type globins descend from a pair of tandemly linked paralogs in the most recent common ancestor of sauropsids. 

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4. Effects of lunar phase and temperature on bat activity and species richness at varying altitudes in the Kunene Region, Namibia

   https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12968  

   Mushabati, Lina M. ; Eiseb, Seth J. ; Benda, Petr ; Laverty, Theresa M. ( February 2022 , African Journal of Ecology)

   Bat activity and species richness patterns are often used to assess bat population trends. Understanding how environmental conditions affect bat activity is thus important for bat conservation, but understudied across much of Africa. To address this information gap, we examined the effects of environmental factors (i.e. lunar phase and ambient temperature) on bat activity and species richness in the northern Namib Desert, Namibia. From May 2016 to March 2017, we deployed long‐term acoustic detectors at three locations of varying altitudes to record bat activity and captured bats to confirm species identities once per month. In total, we recorded 5865 passes from six bat families, with Vespertilionidae and Molossidae occurring at all sites. Lunar phase did not significantly affect activity on full moon versus new moon nights. Bat activity generally peaked at all sites in the early evenings independent of lunar phase, suggesting that foraging just after sunset may be adaptive. Ambient temperature had a negative effect on bat activity at all sites and bats were not active when temperatures were >35°C or ≤11°C, but bat activity peaked during the summer months. Despite differences in temperatures across sites, community composition was not related to altitude. Long‐term monitoring of desert bat activity and species richness is important not only for addressing large knowledge gaps about the population trends and behaviours of these Namibian species and about bats in arid landscapes more generally, but also for informing local bat conservation efforts across a range of environmental conditions.

    

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5. Morphological specialization to nectarivory in Phyllostomus discolor ( Wagner , 1843) ( Chiroptera : Phyllostomidae )

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.25147  

   Quinche, Laura L. ; Santana, Sharlene E. ; Rico‐Guevara, Alejandro ( December 2022 , The Anatomical Record)

   Dedicated nectarivory is a derived feeding habit that requires specialized cranial and soft‐tissue morphologies to extract nectar from flowers. Nectarivory has evolved many times in terrestrial vertebrates, and in four bat families (Pteropodidae, Phyllostomidae, Vespertilionidae, and Mystacinidae). Within phyllostomids, specializations to nectarivory have been well documented in two subfamilies, Glossophaginae and Lonchophyllinae. However, nectarivory has also evolved independently in the genusPhyllostomus(subfamily Phyllostominae). SincePhyllostomusspecies have an omnivorous diet with a high consumption of nectar, they can be used to explore the basic morphological modifications linked to evolving a nectarivorous habit. Here, we focused on describing and comparing the morphological features potentially associated with nectarivory inPhyllostomus discolor. We present the first detailed tongue and palate morphological descriptions forP. discolorand perform skull morphometric analysis including 10 species. We found hair‐like papillae on the tongue ofP. discolor, a convergent feature with Glossophaginae and nectarivorous Pteropodids; these papillae likely confer an advantage when feeding on nectar.P. discolordoes not show skull morphological features characteristic of nectarivorous bats, such as a long and narrow snout. We pose that the consumption of a variety of food, such as hard insects and fruits, and the large size ofP. discolorrelative to specialized nectarivores may create trade‐offs against morphological specialization of the skull towards nectarivory. In contrast, a long and mobile tongue with hair‐like papillae may be an evolutionary solution for nectar extraction that does not have a major impact on this species' ability to feed on other resources.

    

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