Secretory gene recruitments in vampire bat salivary adaptation and potential convergences with sanguivorous leeches
Regulatory evolution is thought to be fundamental to adaptive evolution. However, the identification of specific regulatory changes responsible for adaptation are sparse. Bats of the family Phyllostomidae, owing to their unparalleled rate of ecological and morphological evolution, represent an ide...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2015-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fevo.2015.00122/full |
| _version_ | 1818959103255379968 |
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| author | Caleb Dakotah Phillips Caleb Dakotah Phillips Caleb Dakotah Phillips Robert eBaker Robert eBaker |
| author_facet | Caleb Dakotah Phillips Caleb Dakotah Phillips Caleb Dakotah Phillips Robert eBaker Robert eBaker |
| author_sort | Caleb Dakotah Phillips |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Regulatory evolution is thought to be fundamental to adaptive evolution. However, the identification of specific regulatory changes responsible for adaptation are sparse. Bats of the family Phyllostomidae, owing to their unparalleled rate of ecological and morphological evolution, represent an ideal system to identify regulatory evolution of adaptive significance. Among ecological niche leaps observed in this family, the most dramatic is the evolution of obligate sanguivory by vampire bats, which due to their highly derived phenotype, the sporadic phylogenetic occurrence of blood-feeding, and the adaptive potential of salivary glands, has enabled the development of hypotheses about adaptive molecular phenotypes. Using comparative transcriptomics of vampire bat, outgroup insectivorous bats, and sanguivorous leeches we identify genes that have been convergently recruited as secretory products of salivary glands of vampire bats and leeches. Comparisons of vampire bat to lineages maintaining the primitive chiropteran condition of insectivory indicated gene recruitment of alternative splice variants, and 5’ exon evolution, as the mechanisms producing secretory expression in vampire bats, but not in the insectivorous bats Macrotus and Myotis. Biochemical functions of hypothesized recruited genes explain adaptive benefits to sanguivory by modulating host hemostasis and neural signaling. It is difficult to identify how complex phenotypic change and rapid ecological transition, such as that observed in vampire bats, evolved over a short evolutionary timescale. Results indicate that regulatory evolution controlling tissue-specific splicing patterns has been important to successful adaptation of this lineage. Future studies that leverage emerging long sequence-read technologies, increased sample sizes, and expression and sequence comparisons across other sanguivore lineages will further elucidate roles of alternative splicing and gene recruitment in the remarkable evolution of sanguivory. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T11:36:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-df9de21447fe440e8ab4b3e1cd9643f6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T11:36:19Z |
| publishDate | 2015-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-df9de21447fe440e8ab4b3e1cd9643f62022-12-21T19:42:07ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2015-11-01310.3389/fevo.2015.00122149693Secretory gene recruitments in vampire bat salivary adaptation and potential convergences with sanguivorous leechesCaleb Dakotah Phillips0Caleb Dakotah Phillips1Caleb Dakotah Phillips2Robert eBaker3Robert eBaker4Research and Testing Laboratory and Texas Tech UniversityTexas Tech UniversityTexas Tech UniversityTexas Tech UniversityTexas Tech UniversityRegulatory evolution is thought to be fundamental to adaptive evolution. However, the identification of specific regulatory changes responsible for adaptation are sparse. Bats of the family Phyllostomidae, owing to their unparalleled rate of ecological and morphological evolution, represent an ideal system to identify regulatory evolution of adaptive significance. Among ecological niche leaps observed in this family, the most dramatic is the evolution of obligate sanguivory by vampire bats, which due to their highly derived phenotype, the sporadic phylogenetic occurrence of blood-feeding, and the adaptive potential of salivary glands, has enabled the development of hypotheses about adaptive molecular phenotypes. Using comparative transcriptomics of vampire bat, outgroup insectivorous bats, and sanguivorous leeches we identify genes that have been convergently recruited as secretory products of salivary glands of vampire bats and leeches. Comparisons of vampire bat to lineages maintaining the primitive chiropteran condition of insectivory indicated gene recruitment of alternative splice variants, and 5’ exon evolution, as the mechanisms producing secretory expression in vampire bats, but not in the insectivorous bats Macrotus and Myotis. Biochemical functions of hypothesized recruited genes explain adaptive benefits to sanguivory by modulating host hemostasis and neural signaling. It is difficult to identify how complex phenotypic change and rapid ecological transition, such as that observed in vampire bats, evolved over a short evolutionary timescale. Results indicate that regulatory evolution controlling tissue-specific splicing patterns has been important to successful adaptation of this lineage. Future studies that leverage emerging long sequence-read technologies, increased sample sizes, and expression and sequence comparisons across other sanguivore lineages will further elucidate roles of alternative splicing and gene recruitment in the remarkable evolution of sanguivory.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fevo.2015.00122/fullAlternative Splicingconvergent evolutionGene recruitmentVampire batPhyllostomid bats |
| spellingShingle | Caleb Dakotah Phillips Caleb Dakotah Phillips Caleb Dakotah Phillips Robert eBaker Robert eBaker Secretory gene recruitments in vampire bat salivary adaptation and potential convergences with sanguivorous leeches Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Alternative Splicing convergent evolution Gene recruitment Vampire bat Phyllostomid bats |
| title | Secretory gene recruitments in vampire bat salivary adaptation and potential convergences with sanguivorous leeches |
| title_full | Secretory gene recruitments in vampire bat salivary adaptation and potential convergences with sanguivorous leeches |
| title_fullStr | Secretory gene recruitments in vampire bat salivary adaptation and potential convergences with sanguivorous leeches |
| title_full_unstemmed | Secretory gene recruitments in vampire bat salivary adaptation and potential convergences with sanguivorous leeches |
| title_short | Secretory gene recruitments in vampire bat salivary adaptation and potential convergences with sanguivorous leeches |
| title_sort | secretory gene recruitments in vampire bat salivary adaptation and potential convergences with sanguivorous leeches |
| topic | Alternative Splicing convergent evolution Gene recruitment Vampire bat Phyllostomid bats |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fevo.2015.00122/full |
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