Dietary Diversification and Specialization in Neotropical Bats Facilitated by Early Molecular Evolution.

ABSTRACT: Dietary adaptation is a major feature of phenotypic and ecological diversification, yet the genetic basis of dietary shifts is poorly understood. Among mammals, Neotropical leaf-nosed bats (family Phyllostomidae) show unmatched diversity in diet; from a putative insectivorous ancestor, phyllostomids have radiated to specialize on diverse food sources including blood, nectar, and fruit. To assess whether dietary diversification in this group was accompanied by molecular adaptations for changing metabolic demands, we sequenced 89 transcriptomes across 58 species and combined these with published data to compare ∼13,000 protein coding genes across 66 species. We tested for positive selection on focal lineages, including those inferred to have undergone dietary shifts. Unexpectedly, we found a

SUBMITTER: Potter JHT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8382914 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature