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

新大陆叶鼻蝠是哺乳动物中最成功和最多样化的谱系之一。它们进化出许多不同的面孔，每种头型都有不同的用途。例如，有着扁平的灵长类面孔的蝙蝠吃水果和传播种子。长而窄脸的蝙蝠消耗花蜜并为花朵授粉。新大陆叶鼻蝠是一个理想的群体，可以用来测试哺乳动物进化的一个重要方面：它们的头和脸是如何随着时间的推移而改变的。研究人员将研究独特形状的蝙蝠面孔的进化和发展，通过整合博物馆收藏，实地考察，基因表达研究和实验室实验，在蝙蝠的自然种群中实现不同的喂养策略。该项目的性质将促进来自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。Phyllostomid蝙蝠是迷人的和有魅力的动物，这与博物馆及其收藏品和展品的密切联系相结合，将可能有助于为提供更广泛的影响本study.Morphological多样性的推广工作可以解释通过检查相关物种的进化模式和表征导致基本物种特异性特征的出现的发育基因表达。该项目将：1）在叶口类蝙蝠独特的进食策略的进化中量化形态转变，2）比较在容易量化的特征（如颅骨的缩短和延长）上不同的蝙蝠之间的胚胎基因表达; 3）通过将发育变化与进化变化联系起来来评估多样化的机制。蝙蝠之间的预期显着的发育基因表达差异将提供基础，为检验个体发育和发育之间的联系的假设。具体而言，基因表达变化可以在蝙蝠和/或小鼠胚胎中实验性复制，随后的表型将通过定量形态测量学进行检查，以评估是否模仿了进化模式。这将表明形态学和分子进化变化之间的因果关系。这项研究的结果使人们对哺乳动物主要多样性模式的基本机制有了一个普遍的了解

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