蝙蝠——它們是唯一能夠持續(xù)飛行的哺乳動物,，且它們身上還寄生著一些在世界范圍內(nèi)有著最高致病性的病毒——其中包括埃博拉病毒和SARS病毒?，F(xiàn)在，一個對2種關系遙遠的蝙蝠物種的基因組的比較讓人們了解到了在進化的過程當中塑造這些獨特哺乳動物的基因變異,。Guojie Zhang及其同事對果蝠Pteropus alecto及吃昆蟲的蝙蝠Myotis davidii 的基因組進行了測序以發(fā)現(xiàn)很可能伴隨了它們各自演化進程的改變,。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，在兩個基因組上的,、在選擇之下的令人驚訝的大量的DNA修復基因,，且他們提出，這些突變有助于這些蝙蝠將其代謝最大化及進行飛行,。Zhang及其他研究人員還發(fā)現(xiàn)了已經(jīng)丟失的——或目前在選擇之下的——與免疫系統(tǒng)有關的基因,，它們也許還可幫助解釋為什么蝙蝠會是這些疾病的宿主。(生物谷Bioon.com)

DOI: 10.1126/science.1230835
PMC:
PMID:
Comparative Analysis of Bat Genomes Provides Insight into the Evolutionof Flight and Immunity

Guojie Zhang1,2,*,†, Christopher Cowled3,*, Zhengli Shi4,*, Zhiyong Huang1,*, Kimberly A. Bishop-Lilly5,*,Xiaodong Fang1, James W. Wynne3, Zhiqiang Xiong1, Michelle L. Baker3, Wei Zhao1, Mary Tachedjian3,Yabing Zhu1, Peng Zhou3,4, Xuanting Jiang1, Justin Ng3, Lan Yang1, Lijun Wu4, Jin Xiao1, Yue Feng1,Yuanxin Chen1, Xiaoqing Sun1, Yong Zhang1, Glenn A. Marsh3, Gary Crameri3, Christopher C. Broder6,Kenneth G. Frey5, Lin-Fa Wang3,7,†, Jun Wang1,8,9,†

Bats are the only mammals capable of sustained flight and are notorious reservoir hosts for some of theworld’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 bat species, fruit batPteropus alecto and insectivorous 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 theorigin of flight, as well as expansion and contraction of important gene families. Comparison of bat genomeswith other mammalian species has provided new insights into bat biology and evolution.