Vampire bats exhibit evolutionary reduction of bitter taste receptor genes common to other bats

Hong, Wei; Zhao, Huabin

doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.1079

Cited by 45 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…In concert with ecological diversification, noctilionoids evolved highly diverse sensory modalities, including infrared thermal radiation detection in vampire bats, high duty cycle (HDC) echolocation in the Pteronotus parnellii species complex (family Mormoopidae), and inferred ultraviolet (UV) perception in some nectar‐feeding lineages (Gracheva et al., 2011; Smotherman & Guillen‐Servent, 2008; Winter, Lopez, & Helversen, 2003). However, most previous research has focused on the relationship between noctilionoid diet and morphology (Arbour, Curtis, & Santana, 2019; Dumont et al., 2012; Rojas et al., 2011), with analyses linking foraging modes and molecular adaptations of sensory systems in this clade having only recently started (Hayden et al., 2014; Hong & Zhao, 2014; Sadier et al., 2018; Yohe et al., 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging shifts and visual preadaptation in ecologically diverse bats

et al. 2020

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Changes in behaviour may initiate shifts to new adaptive zones, with physical adaptations for novel environments evolving later. While new mutations are commonly considered engines of adaptive change, sensory evolution enabling access to new resources might also arise from standing genetic diversity, and even gene loss. We examine the relative contribution of molecular adaptations, measured by positive and relaxed selection, acting on eye‐expressed genes associated with shifts to new adaptive zones in ecologically diverse bats from the superfamily Noctilionoidea. Collectively, noctilionoids display remarkable ecological breadth, from highly divergent echolocation to flight strategies linked to specialized insectivory, the parallel evolution of diverse plant‐based diets (e.g., nectar, pollen and fruit) from ancestral insectivory, and—unusually for echolocating bats—often have large, well‐developed eyes. We report contrasting levels of positive selection in genes associated with the development, maintenance and scope of visual function, tracing back to the origins of noctilionoids and Phyllostomidae (the bat family with most dietary diversity), instead of during shifts to novel diets. Generalized plant visiting was not associated with exceptional molecular adaptation, and exploration of these novel niches took place in an ancestral phyllostomid genetic background. In contrast, evidence for positive selection in vision genes was found at subsequent shifts to either nectarivory or frugivory. Thus, neotropical noctilionoids that use visual cues for identifying food and roosts, as well as for orientation, were effectively preadapted, with subsequent molecular adaptations in nectar‐feeding lineages and the subfamily Stenodermatinae of fig‐eating bats fine‐tuning pre‐existing visual adaptations for specialized purposes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging shifts and visual preadaptation in ecologically diverse bats

et al. 2020

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“…Niche specialization was accompanied by a suite of molecular modifications leading to major shifts in mechanisms underlying sensory perception. The diverse ecological niches bats occupy have been associated with many adaptations, including variation in their chemosensory receptors [2,3], along with contrasting signatures of selection in auditory genes (reviewed in [1]). Although impossible in complete darkness, vision is important for bats and may complement other sensory modalities, such as echolocation, under typical nocturnal light conditions [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of ecological factors in shaping bat cone opsin evolution

et al. 2018

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Bats represent one of the largest and most striking nocturnal mammalian radiations, exhibiting many visual system specializations for performance in light-limited environments. Despite representing the greatest ecological diversity and species richness in Chiroptera, Neotropical lineages have been undersampled in molecular studies, limiting the potential for identifying signatures of selection on visual genes associated with differences in bat ecology. Here, we investigated how diverse ecological pressures mediate long-term shifts in selection upon long-wavelength () and short-wavelength () opsins, photosensitive cone pigments that form the basis of colour vision in most mammals, including bats. We used codon-based likelihood clade models to test whether ecological variables associated with reliance on visual information (e.g. echolocation ability and diet) or exposure to varying light environments (e.g. roosting behaviour and foraging habitat) mediated shifts in evolutionary rates in bat cone opsin genes. Using additional cone opsin sequences from newly sequenced eye transcriptomes of six Neotropical bat species, we found significant evidence for different ecological pressures influencing the evolution of the cone opsins. While is evolving under significantly lower constraint in highly specialized high-duty cycle echolocating lineages, which have enhanced sonar ability to detect and track targets, variation in constraint was significantly associated with foraging habitat, exhibiting elevated rates of evolution in species that forage among vegetation. This suggests that increased reliance on echolocation as well as the spectral environment experienced by foraging bats may differentially influence the evolution of different cone opsins. Our study demonstrates that different ecological variables may underlie contrasting evolutionary patterns in bat visual opsins, and highlights the suitability of clade models for testing ecological hypotheses of visual evolution.

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“…To obtain the MHCI repertoire for the target species, each genome sequence was analyzed by using an automatic pipeline developed in our laboratory, as described elsewhere (Feng, Zheng, Rossiter, Wang, & Zhao, ; Hong & Zhao, ; Jiao, Wang, Zhang, Jiang, & Zhao, ; Wang & Zhao, ). Briefly, we used full‐length MHCI protein sequences from the human, horse, and bats as queries in TBLASTN searches against each genome assembly, with a cutoff E‐value of 10 −10 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Identification Of Mhc Class I Genesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Origin and evolution of the major histocompatibility complex class I region in eutherian mammals

Abduriyim

Zou

Zhao

2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes in vertebrates are vital in defending against pathogenic infections. To gain new insights into the evolution of MHC Class I (MHCI) genes and test competing hypotheses on the origin of the MHCI region in eutherian mammals, we studied available genome assemblies of nine species in Afrotheria, Xenarthra, and Laurasiatheria, and successfully characterized the MHCI region in six species. The following numbers of putatively functional genes were detected: in the elephant, four, one, and eight in the extended class I region, and κ and β duplication blocks, respectively; in the tenrec, one in the κ duplication block; and in the four bat species, one or two in the β duplication block. Our results indicate that MHCI genes in the κ and β duplication blocks may have originated in the common ancestor of eutherian mammals. In the elephant, tenrec, and all four bats, some MHCI genes occurred outside the MHCI region, suggesting that eutherians may have a more complex MHCI genomic organization than previously thought. Bat‐specific three‐ or five‐amino‐acid insertions were detected in the MHCI α1 domain in all four bats studied, suggesting that pathogen defense in bats relies on MHCIs having a wider peptide‐binding groove, as previously assayed by a bat MHCI gene with a three‐amino‐acid insertion showing a larger peptide repertoire than in other mammals. Our study adds to knowledge on the diversity of eutherian MHCI genes, which may have been shaped in a taxon‐specific manner.

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Vampire bats exhibit evolutionary reduction of bitter taste receptor genes common to other bats

Cited by 45 publications

References 40 publications

Foraging shifts and visual preadaptation in ecologically diverse bats

Foraging shifts and visual preadaptation in ecologically diverse bats

The role of ecological factors in shaping bat cone opsin evolution

Origin and evolution of the major histocompatibility complex class I region in eutherian mammals

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