title: Comparative analysis of bat genomes provides insight into the evolution of flight and immunity.
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 κB 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.
authors.affiliation: BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518083, China. zhanggj@genomics.org.cn
authors.forename: Guojie
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cowled
authors.forename: Zhengli
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Kimberly A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Bishop-Lilly
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Wynne
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Michelle L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tachedjian
authors.forename: Yabing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Xuanting
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Lijun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Yuanxin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xiaoqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Glenn A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Marsh
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Crameri
authors.forename: Christopher C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Broder
authors.forename: Kenneth G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Frey
authors.forename: Lin-Fa
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000235:genetics; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000235:genetics; D004455:Echolocation; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005426:Flight, Animal; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D016678:Genome; D006605:Hibernation / Q000235:genetics; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species