TY  - INPR
A1  - Blumer, Moritz
A1  - Brown, Thomas
A1  - Freitas, Mariella Bontempo
A1  - Destro, Ana Luiza
A1  - Oliveira, Juraci A.
A1  - Morales, Ariadna E.
A1  - Schell, Tilman
A1  - Greve, Carola
A1  - Pippel, Martin
A1  - Jebb, David
A1  - Hecker, Nikolai
A1  - Ahmed, Alexis-Walid
A1  - Kirilenko, Bogdan M.
A1  - Foote, Maddy
A1  - Janke, Axel
A1  - Lim, Burton K.
A1  - Hiller, Michael
T1  - Gene losses in the common vampire bat illuminate molecular adaptations to blood feeding
T2  - bioRxiv
N2  - Feeding exclusively on blood, vampire bats represent the only obligate sanguivorous lineage among mammals. To uncover genomic changes associated with adaptations to this unique dietary specialization, we generated a new haplotype-resolved reference-quality genome of the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) and screened 26 bat species for genes that were specifically lost in the vampire bat lineage. We discovered previously-unknown gene losses that relate to metabolic and physiological changes, such as reduced insulin secretion (FFAR1, SLC30A8), limited glycogen stores (PPP1R3E), and a distinct gastric physiology (CTSE). Other gene losses likely reflect the biased nutrient composition (ERN2, CTRL) and distinct pathogen diversity of blood (RNASE7). Interestingly, the loss of REP15 likely helped vampire bats to adapt to high dietary iron levels by enhancing iron excretion and the loss of the 24S-hydroxycholesterol metabolizing enzyme CYP39A1 could contribute to their exceptional cognitive abilities. Finally, losses of key cone phototransduction genes (PDE6H, PDE6C) suggest that these strictly-nocturnal bats completely lack cone-based vision. These findings enhance our understanding of vampire bat biology and the genomic underpinnings of adaptations to sanguivory.
Y1  - 2021
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/72952
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-729527
IS  - 2021.10.18.462363
ER  -