Making a bat: The developmental basis of bat evolution

Abstract

Bats are incredibly diverse, both morphologically and taxonomically. Bats are the only mammalian group to have achieved powered flight, an adaptation that is hypothesized to have allowed them to colonize various and diverse ecological niches. However, the lack of fossils capturing the transition from terrestrial mammal to volant chiropteran has obscured much of our understanding of bat evolution. Over the last 20 years, the emergence of evo-devo in non-model species has started to fill this gap by uncovering some developmental mechanisms at the origin of bat diversification. In this review, we highlight key aspects of studies that have used bats as a model for morphological adaptations, diversification during adaptive radiations, and morphological novelty. To do so, we review current and ongoing studies on bat evolution. We first investigate morphological specialization by reviewing current knowledge about wing and face evolution. Then, we explore the mechanisms behind adaptive diversification in various ecological contexts using vision and dentition. Finally, we highlight the emerging work into morphological novelties using bat wing membranes.

Genome assembly of the Pendlebury’s roundleaf bat, Hipposideros pendleburyi, revealed the expansion of Tc1/Mariner DNA transposons in Rhinolophoidea

“…This placement was consistent with several other molecular phylogenetic studies. 3 , 5 , 6 Two internal nodes within the Ferungulata clade showed a low bootstrap support value ( Fig. 1 ) as also reported in the previous study, 6 suggesting the rapid speciation events in the Laurasiatheria superclade.…”

“… 2 Their habitats and diets are also diverse, making them important pollinators and insect controllers in various ecosystems. 3 Bats have been originally classified into two groups, microbats and megabats, based on morphological features, such as body size and echolocating abilities. 4 Molecular data were later used to refine this classification, which led to the reclassification of bats into the suborders Yinpterochiroptera and Yangochiroptera.…”

Constitutive IFNα Protein Production in Bats

“…With more than 1,200 species, representing about 20% of the total diversity of Mammals, bats are among the most abundant, diverse and geographically dispersed vertebrates on the planet. They are the only mammals capable of active flight and present numerous anatomical variations ( 1 – 4 ). Bats also act as reservoirs for a multitude of viruses, some recognized as highly pathogenic to humans and animals ( 5 – 10 ).…”

Time to synchronize our clocks: Connecting developmental mechanisms and evolutionary consequences of heterochrony

“…Molecular developmental research studies have focused on the morphology of the bat wing (Sears et al, 2006;Sadier et al, 2020), but few studies have investigated aspects of craniofacial development (Camacho et al, 2020;Martínez-Cerdeño et al, 2018;Sadier et al, 2020). Many morphologically distinct species are rare, making them difficult to capture in the wild, let alone capture multiple, equivalently aged embryos.…”