Dissertation Research: Molecular mechanisms underlying striking craniofacial variation in New World Leaf-Nosed bats (Phyllostomidae)

新大陆叶鼻蝙蝠是哺乳动物中最成功、最多样化的物种之一。它们进化出了许多不同的面孔，每个头部形状都有不同的用途。例如，脸扁平、像灵长类动物的蝙蝠吃水果并散播种子。脸又长又窄的蝙蝠吃花蜜和授粉的花。新大陆叶鼻蝙蝠是用来测试哺乳动物进化的一个重要方面的理想群体：它们的头和脸是如何随着时间的推移而变化的。研究人员将通过整合博物馆收藏、田野调查、基因表达研究和实验室实验，研究独特形状的蝙蝠脸的进化和发展，这些脸允许在自然蝙蝠种群中采取不同的摄食策略。这个项目的性质将促进来自几个机构的不同生物学领域的科学家之间的合作、网络和培训，以及本科生的参与和指导。叶口蝙蝠是一种迷人而有魅力的动物，再加上与博物馆及其收藏和展品的密切联系，很可能有助于为这项研究提供更广泛的影响而进行的推广工作。形态多样性可以通过研究相关物种的进化模式和表征发育基因表达来解释，从而产生基本的物种特有特征。该项目将：1)量化叶口类蝙蝠独特摄食策略进化中的形态变化；2)比较容易量化特征不同的蝙蝠之间的胚胎基因表达，如头骨的缩短和延长；3)通过将发育变化与进化变化联系起来，评估多样化的机制。蝙蝠之间预期的显著发育基因表达差异将为检验个体发育和系统发育之间的联系的假说提供基础。具体地说，基因表达的变化可能会在蝙蝠和/或小鼠的胚胎中进行实验复制，随后的表型将通过定量形态计量学进行检查，以评估是否模仿了进化模式。这将表明形态和分子进化变化之间的因果联系。这项研究的结果使人们对哺乳动物主要多样性模式背后的基本机制有了大致的了解。

New-World leaf-nosed bats are one of the most successful and diverse lineages of mammals. They have evolved many distinct faces and each head shape serves a different purpose. For example, bats with flat, primate-like faces eat fruit and disperse seeds. Bats with long and narrow faces consume nectar and pollinate flowers. The New-World leaf-nosed bats are an ideal group with which to test an important aspect of mammal evolution: how their heads and faces changed in appearance over time. The researchers will examine the evolution and development of uniquely shaped bat faces that allow for distinct feeding strategies in natural populations of bats by integrating museum collections, fieldwork, gene expression studies, and experiments in the laboratory. The nature of this project will foster collaborations, networking, and training among scientists from different fields of biology across several institutions plus involvement and mentoring of undergraduates. Phyllostomid bats are fascinating and charismatic animals and this combined with a close tie to the museums and their collections and exhibits will likely help the outreach efforts for providing the broader impact of this study.Morphological diversity can be explained by examining evolutionary patterns in related species and characterizing developmental gene expression leading to the appearance of fundamental species-specific features. This project will: 1) quantify morphological transformations in the evolution of unique feeding strategies among phyllostomid bats, 2) compare embryonic gene expression between bats that differ in easily quantifiable characteristics, such as shortening and elongation of the cranium; and 3) evaluate mechanisms for diversification by connecting developmental change to evolutionary change. Anticipated significant developmental gene expression differences among bats will provide the foundation for testing hypotheses about the link between ontogeny and phylogeny. Specifically, gene expression changes may be experimentally replicated in bat and/or mouse embryos and the subsequent phenotypes will be examined by quantitative morphometrics to evaluate if evolutionary patterns are mimicked. This will indicate a causative connection between morphological and molecular evolutionary changes. The results of this research allow for a general understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying major diversity patterns among mammals