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Genome project opens the next chapter for studying bat evolution

Nature作者：Josefin Stiller2026年9月23日正文已收录本站
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A landmark collection of bat genomes reveals fresh clues about the evolution of one of the world’s most unusual groups of mammals.

By

  1. Josefin Stiller

    1. Josefin Stiller is in the Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark.

Bats seem to defy many of biology’s rules. They are the only mammals capable of powered flight, many of them navigate using echolocation, they tolerate an astonishingly high viral load without signs of illness and they often live longer than their body size would suggest. Yet key aspects of bat evolution have been surprisingly challenging to resolve. Writing in Nature, Morales et al.1 report the assembled genomes of 103 bat species, 42 of which were generated as part of the study, including representatives from all 21 taxonomic families. This landmark data set offers an unprecedented look at bat evolution, revealing how genomes, lineages and defining traits have diversified over time. The genomic resources that it provides are set to power comparative studies for years to come.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-02637-8

References

  1. Morales, A. E. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11007-3 (2026).

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  2. Sotero-Caio, C. G., Baker, R. J. & Volleth, M. Genes 8, 272 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Hand, S. J., Maugoust, J., Beck, R. M. D. & Orliac, M. J. Curr. Biol. 33, 4624–4640 (2023).

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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