蝙蝠——它们是唯一能够持续飞行的哺乳动物，且它们身上还寄生着一些在世界范围内有着最高致病性的病毒——其中包括埃博拉病毒和SARS病毒。现在，一个对2种关系遥远的蝙蝠物种的基因组的比较让人们了解到了在进化的过程当中塑造这些独特哺乳动物的基因变异。Guojie Zhang及其同事对果蝠Pteropus alecto及吃昆虫的蝙蝠Myotis davidii 的基因组进行了测序以发现很可能伴随了它们各自演化进程的改变。研究人员发现，在两个基因组上的、在选择之下的令人惊讶的大量的DNA修复基因，且他们提出，这些突变有助于这些蝙蝠将其代谢最大化及进行飞行。Zhang及其他研究人员还发现了已经丢失的——或目前在选择之下的——与免疫系统有关的基因，它们也许还可帮助解释为什么蝙蝠会是这些疾病的宿主。(生物谷Bioon.com)
DOI: 10.1126/science.1230835
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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.
