蝙蝠是夜行性動物,。食蟲蝙蝠主要用回聲定位來確定方位，捕捉昆蟲,，眼睛退化，甚至之前人們認(rèn)為蝙蝠是瞎子,，這個是大家所熟悉的,。舊大陸果蝠并沒有回聲定位能力（除了果蝠屬有回聲定位，但一般只用于進(jìn)入山洞后的巢穴定位）,，它們主要依賴視覺和嗅覺來尋找食物,，眼睛很發(fā)達(dá)。
中國科學(xué)院昆明動物研究所分子進(jìn)化基因組張亞平院士及其博士生沈永義克隆了控制形成視網(wǎng)膜上視桿細(xì)胞（主導(dǎo)暗視覺,，相對于視錐細(xì)胞的色視覺）暗視覺感受器的RH1基因,，發(fā)現(xiàn)無論是眼睛退化的食蟲蝙蝠還是眼睛發(fā)達(dá)的舊大陸果蝠的視桿細(xì)胞全部都有表達(dá)RH1基因，說明了即使是眼睛高度退化的食蟲蝙蝠,，它們?nèi)匀痪哂邪狄曈X,。對該基因序列的進(jìn)一步分析發(fā)現(xiàn)，該基因在果蝠與墓蝠（食蟲蝙蝠,，眼睛沒退化）間發(fā)生了趨同進(jìn)化,，長翼蝠和菊頭蝠（都是眼睛退化）也發(fā)生了趨同進(jìn)化,。該結(jié)果揭示了，蝙蝠分化后,，可能由于對暗視覺的趨同需求（有些種類趨同于更多依賴視覺,，眼睛發(fā)達(dá)；而有些是趨同于較少依賴視覺,，眼睛退化）,，導(dǎo)致了RH1基因在蝙蝠里面發(fā)生了多次趨同進(jìn)化。（生物谷Bioon.com）
相關(guān)研究：
Current Biology：蝙蝠與鯨及海豚趨同進(jìn)化研究
PNAS：蝙蝠視覺進(jìn)化新機(jī)制
生物谷推薦原始出處：
PLoS ONE 5(1): e8838. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008838
Parallel and Convergent Evolution of the Dim-Light Vision Gene RH1 in Bats (Order: Chiroptera)
Yong-Yi Shen1,2,3, Jie Liu1,3, David M. Irwin4,5, Ya-Ping Zhang1,2*
1 State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China, 2 Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-resources, Yunnan University, Kunming, China, 3 Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, 4 Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 5 Banting and Best Diabetes Centre, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Rhodopsin, encoded by the gene Rhodopsin (RH1), is extremely sensitive to light, and is responsible for dim-light vision. Bats are nocturnal mammals that inhabit poor light environments. Megabats (Old-World fruit bats) generally have well-developed eyes, while microbats (insectivorous bats) have developed echolocation and in general their eyes were degraded, however, dramatic differences in the eyes, and their reliance on vision, exist in this group. In this study, we examined the rod opsin gene (RH1), and compared its evolution to that of two cone opsin genes (SWS1 and M/LWS). While phylogenetic reconstruction with the cone opsin genes SWS1 and M/LWS generated a species tree in accord with expectations, the RH1 gene tree united Pteropodidae (Old-World fruit bats) and Yangochiroptera, with very high bootstrap values, suggesting the possibility of convergent evolution. The hypothesis of convergent evolution was further supported when nonsynonymous sites or amino acid sequences were used to construct phylogenies. Reconstructed RH1 sequences at internal nodes of the bat species phylogeny showed that: (1) Old-World fruit bats share an amino acid change (S270G) with the tomb bat; (2) Miniopterus share two amino acid changes (V104I, M183L) with Rhinolophoidea; (3) the amino acid replacement I123V occurred independently on four branches, and the replacements L99M, L266V and I286V occurred each on two branches. The multiple parallel amino acid replacements that occurred in the evolution of bat RH1 suggest the possibility of multiple convergences of their ecological specialization (i.e., various photic environments) during adaptation for the nocturnal lifestyle, and suggest that further attention is needed on the study of the ecology and behavior of bats.
