Comparative analysis of bat genomes provides insight into the evolution of flight and immunity

Guojie Zhang*, Christopher Cowled, Zhengli Shi, Zhiyong Huang, Kimberly A. Bishop-Lilly, Xiaodong Fang, James W. Wynne, Zhiqiang Xiong, Michelle L. Baker, Wei Zhao, Mary Tachedjian, Yabing Zhu, Peng Zhou, Xuanting Jiang, Justin Ng, Lan Yang, Lijun Wu, Jin Xiao, Yue Feng, Yuanxin ChenXiaoqing Sun, Yong Zhang, Glenn A. Marsh, Gary Crameri, Christopher C. Broder, Kenneth G. Frey, Lin Fa Wang, Jun Wang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Bats are the only mammals capable of sustained flight and are notorious reservoir hosts for some of the world's most highly pathogenic viruses, including Nipah, Hendra, Ebola, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). To identify genetic changes associated with the development of bat-specific traits, we performed whole-genome sequencing and comparative analyses of two distantly related species, fruit bat Pteropus alecto and insectivorous bat Myotis davidii. We discovered an unexpected concentration of positively selected genes in the DNA damage checkpoint and nuclear factor kB pathways that may be related to the origin of flight, as well as expansion and contraction of important gene families. Comparison of bat genomes with other mammalian species has provided new insights into bat biology and evolution.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)456-460
Number of pages5
JournalScience
Volume339
Issue number6118
DOIs
StatePublished - 25 Jan 2013
Externally publishedYes

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