Journal article
Hologenomic adaptations underlying the evolution of sanguivory in the common vampire bat
University of Copenhagen1
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México2
National Autonomous University of Mexico3
Copenhagen Zoo4
Curtin University5
Department of Bio and Health Informatics, Technical University of Denmark6
Norwegian University of Science and Technology7
Chinese Academy of Sciences8
Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research9
University of Oxford10
University of Glasgow11
Stanford University12
Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias13
BGI Group14
San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research15
...and 5 moreAdaptation to specialized diets often requires modifications at both genomic and microbiome levels. We applied a hologenomic approach to the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus), one of the only three obligate blood-feeding (sanguivorous) mammals, to study the evolution of its complex dietary adaptation.
Specifically, we assembled its high-quality reference genome (scaffold N50 = 26.9 Mb, contig N50 = 36.6 kb) and gut metagenome, and compared them against those of insectivorous, frugivorous and carnivorous bats. Our analyses showed a particular common vampire bat genomic landscape regarding integrated viral elements, a dietary and phylogenetic influence on gut microbiome taxonomic and functional profiles, and that both genetic elements harbour key traits related to the nutritional (for example, vitamin and lipid shortage) and non-nutritional (for example, nitrogen waste and osmotic homeostasis) challenges of sanguivory.
These findings highlight the value of a holistic study of both the host and its microbiota when attempting to decipher adaptations underlying radical dietary lifestyles.
Language: | English |
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Year: | 2018 |
Pages: | 659-668 |
ISSN: | 2397334x |
Types: | Journal article |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41559-018-0476-8 |
ORCIDs: | 0000-0002-1126-8219 , 0000-0003-2421-4831 , 0000-0001-5904-1198 , 0000-0002-9367-6813 , 0000-0001-7907-064X , 0000-0001-6860-1521 , 0000-0002-5805-7195 , 0000-0002-4773-2773 , 0000-0001-7475-2705 , 0000-0002-4507-181X , 0000-0003-2427-763X , 0000-0003-1896-5962 , 0000-0003-3130-4501 and 0000-0001-6615-1141 |