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Global warming leads to larger bats with a faster life history pace in the long-lived Bechstein's bat (Myotis bechsteinii).

ABSTRACT: Whether species can cope with environmental change depends considerably on their life history. Bats have long lifespans and low reproductive rates which make them vulnerable to environmental changes. Global warming causes Bechstein's bats (Myotis bechsteinii) to produce larger females that face a higher mortality risk. Here, we test whether these larger females are able to offset their elevated mortality risk by adopting a faster life history. We analysed an individual-based 25-year dataset from 331 RFID-tagged wild bats and combine genetic pedigrees with data on survival, reproduction and body size. We find that size-dependent fecundity and age at first reproduction drive the observed increase in mortality. Because larger females have an earlier onset of reproduction and shorter generation times, lifetime reproductive success remains remarkably stable across individuals with different body sizes. Our study demonstrates a rapid shift to a faster pace of life in a mammal with a slow life history.

SUBMITTER: Mundinger C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9271042 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Global warming leads to larger bats with a faster life history pace in the long-lived Bechstein's bat (Myotis bechsteinii).

Mundinger Carolin C Fleischer Toni T Scheuerlein Alexander A Kerth Gerald G

Communications biology 20220709 1

Whether species can cope with environmental change depends considerably on their life history. Bats have long lifespans and low reproductive rates which make them vulnerable to environmental changes. Global warming causes Bechstein's bats (Myotis bechsteinii) to produce larger females that face a higher mortality risk. Here, we test whether these larger females are able to offset their elevated mortality risk by adopting a faster life history. We analysed an individual-based 25-year dataset from ...[more]

PMID: 35810175

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Project description:BackgroundChiroptera, the bats, are the only order of mammals capable of true self-powered flight. Bats exhibit a number of other exceptional traits such as echolocation, viral tolerance and, perhaps most puzzlingly, extreme longevity given their body size. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms driving their extended longevity particularly at the levels of gene expression and post-transcriptional regulation. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms that may underlie their unusual longevity, we have deep sequenced 246.5 million small RNA reads from whole blood of the long-lived greater mouse-eared bats, Myotis myotis, and conducted a series of genome-wide comparative analyses between bat and non-bat mammals (human, pig and cow) in both blood miRNomes and transcriptomes, for the first time.ResultsWe identified 539 miRNA gene candidates from bats, of which 468 unique mature miRNA were obtained. More than half of these miRNA (65.1 %) were regarded as bat-specific, regulating genes involved in the immune, ageing and tumorigenesis pathways. We have also developed a stringent pipeline for genome-wide miRNome comparisons across species, and identified 37 orthologous miRNA groups shared with bat, human, pig and cow, 6 of which were differentially expressed. For bats, 3 out of 4 up-regulated miRNA (miR-101-3p, miR-16-5p, miR-143-3p) likely function as tumor suppressors against various kinds of cancers, while one down-regulated miRNA (miR-221-5p) acts as a tumorigenesis promoter in human breast and pancreatic cancers. Additionally, a genome-wide comparison of mRNA transcriptomes across species also revealed specific gene expression patterns in bats. 127 up-regulated genes were enriched mainly in mitotic cell cycle and DNA repair mechanisms, while 364 down-regulated genes were involved primarily in mitochondrial activity.ConclusionsOur comprehensive and integrative analyses revealed bat-specific and differentially expressed miRNA and mRNA that function in key longevity pathways, producing a distinct bat gene expression pattern. For the first time, we show that bats may possess unique regulatory mechanisms for resisting tumorigenesis, repairing cellular damage and preventing oxidative stresses, all of which likely contribute to the extraordinary lifespan of Myotis myotis.

Project description:Bats can contribute to an increase of aeromycota in underground ecosystems and might be a vector/reservoir of microorganisms; however, there is no information about the number and species composition of fungi around hibernating bats. One of the most common species in Europe with direct human contact is the greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis). The goal of our research was the first report of the airborne fungi present in the close vicinity of hibernating M. myotis in the Nietoperek bat reserve (Western Poland) by the use of culture-based techniques and genetic and phenotypic identifications. Aerobiological investigations of mycobiota under hibernating bats were performed on two culture media (PDA and YPG) and at two incubation temperatures (7 and 24 ± 0.5 °C). Overall, we detected 32 fungal species from three phyla (Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Zygomycota) and 12 genera. The application of YPG medium and the higher incubation temperature showed higher numbers of isolated fungal species and CFU. Penicillium spp. were dominant in the study, with spores found outside the underground hibernation site from 51.9% to 86.3% and from 56.7% to 100% inside the bat reserve. Penicillium chrysogenum was the most frequently isolated species, then Absidia glauca, Aspergillus fumigatus, A. tubingensis, Mortierella polycephala, Naganishia diffluens, and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa. Temperature, relative humidity, and the abundance of bats correlated positively with the concentration of airborne fungal propagules, between fungal species diversity, and the concentration of aeromycota, but the number of fungal species did not positively correlate with the number of bats. The air in the underground site was more contaminated by fungi than the air outside; however, the concentration of aeromycota does not pose a threat for human health. Nevertheless, hibernating bats contribute to an increase in the aeromycota and as a vector/reservoir of microscopic fungi, including those that may cause allergies and infections in mammals, and should be monitored.

Project description:The two sibling bat species Myotis myotis and Myotis blythii occur in sympatry over wide areas of Southern and Central Europe. Morphological, ecological and previous genetic evidence supported the view that the two species constitute two well-differentiated groups, but recent phylogenetic analyses have shown that the two species share some mtDNA haplotypes when they occur in sympatry. In order to see whether some genetic exchange has occurred between the two species, we sequenced a highly variable segment of the mitochondrial control region in both species living in sympatry and in allopatry. We also analysed the nuclear diversity of 160 individuals of both species found in two mixed nursery colonies located north and south of the Alps. MtDNA analysis confirmed that European M. blythii share multiple, identical or very similar haplotypes with M. myotis. Since allopatric Asian M. blythii presents mtDNA sequences that are very divergent from those of the two species found in Europe, we postulate that the mitochondrial genome of the European M. blythii has been replaced by that of M. myotis. The analysis of nuclear diversity shows a strikingly different pattern, as both species are well differentiated within mixed nursery colonies (F(ST) = 0.18). However, a Bayesian analysis of admixture reveals that the hybrids can be frequently observed, as about 25% of sampled M. blythii show introgressed genes of M. myotis origin. In contrast, less than 4% of the M. myotis analysed were classified as non-parental genotypes, revealing an asymmetry in the pattern of hybridization between the two species. These results show that the two species can interbreed and that the hybridization is still ongoing in the areas of sympatry. The persistence of well-differentiated nuclear gene pools, in spite of an apparent replacement of mitochondrial genome in European M. blythii by that of M. myotis, is best explained by a series of introgression events having occurred repeatedly during the recent colonization of Europe by M. blythii from Asia. The sharp contrast obtained from the analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear markers further points to the need to cautiously interpret results based on a single class of genetic markers.

Dataset Information

Global warming leads to larger bats with a faster life history pace in the long-lived Bechstein's bat (Myotis bechsteinii).

Publications

Global warming leads to larger bats with a faster life history pace in the long-lived Bechstein's bat (Myotis bechsteinii).

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