A metaanalysis of bat phylogenetics and positive selection based on genomes and transcriptomes from 18 species

Hawkins, John A.; Kaczmarek, Maria E.; Müller, Marcel A.; Drosten, Christian; Press, William H.; Sawyer, Sara L.

Chiroptera | phylogenetics | transcriptome | gene alignment | orthologous genes T he bat order Chiroptera is one of the most common and diversely adapted orders of organisms on Earth. Estimates of the exact number of species vary, but all estimates show bats represent a large portion of the known mammalian species, representing ∼925 of 6,400 known species, about 15% (1, 2) . Several characteristics of bats make them inherently interesting, most uniquely their ability to fly and echolocate. Bats are also notorious for harboring viruses that transmit to humans [called zoonotic viruses (3) ]. For instance, bats are the established reservoir hosts for SARS coronavirus, Nipah virus, and Hendra virus (1, 4) . Hypsignathus monstrosus, the hammer-headed bat, has been identified as a possible reservoir host of Ebola virus (5, 6) . Marburg virus, a close relative of Ebola virus, has been isolated from Rousettus aegyptiacus (7, 8) .