New Corthals Lab Publication!
The Evolution of Antimicrobial Peptides in Chiroptera
This new publication is part of Dr. Corthals' NSF collaborative grant with Dr. Liliana Davalos (Stony Brook University) and Dr. David Ray (Texas Tech): immunological adaptations in bats to moderate the effect of coronavirus infection.
Congratulations to PhD student Francisco Castellanos (Texas Tech University) and Postodoctoral Researcher Diana Moreno-Santillan (University of California, Berkeley) for spearheading and leading this research!
Abstract: High viral tolerance coupled with an extraordinary regulation of the
immune response makes bats a great model to study host-pathogen
evolution. Although many immune-related gene gains and losses have been
previously reported in bats, important gene families such as
antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) remain understudied. We built an
exhaustive bioinformatic pipeline targeting the major gene families of
defensins and cathelicidins to explore AMP diversity and analyze their
evolution and distribution across six bat families. A combination of
manual and automated procedures identified 29 AMP families across
queried species, with α-, β-defensins, and cathelicidins representing
around 10% of AMP diversity. Gene duplications were inferred in both
α-defensins, which were absent in five species, and three β-defensin
gene subfamilies, but cathelicidins did not show significant shifts in
gene family size and were absent in Anoura caudifer and the
pteropodids. Based on lineage-specific gains and losses, we propose diet
and diet-related microbiome evolution may determine the evolution of α-
and β-defensins gene families and subfamilies. These results highlight
the importance of building species-specific libraries for genome
annotation in non-model organisms and shed light on possible drivers
responsible for the rapid evolution of AMPs. By focusing on these
understudied defenses, we provide a robust framework for explaining bat
responses to pathogens.
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| Fulvus leaf-nosed bat(Hipposideros fulvus) |
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