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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 29, 2026

Tissue Collection of Bats for -Omics Analyses and Primary Cell Culture

Tissue Collection of Bats for -Omics Analyses and Primary Cell Culture

Published on: October 23, 2019

Prestin shows divergent evolution between constant frequency echolocating bats.

Bin Shen¹, Rafael Avila-Flores, Yang Liu

¹Institute of Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Institutes for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.

Journal of Molecular Evolution

|September 28, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The Prestin gene, crucial for hearing, shows convergent evolution in bats and whales. However, Parnell's mustached bat's echolocation doesn't rely on the same Prestin gene changes, suggesting alternative evolutionary paths.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Auditory Neuroscience
Molecular Biology

Background:

The Prestin gene encodes a motor protein vital for high-frequency hearing in mammals.
Previous studies indicated positive selection and convergent Prestin evolution in Old World bats and echolocating cetaceans.
This convergence was linked to narrowband constant frequency (CF) echolocation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if convergent Prestin evolution is a prerequisite for independently evolved CF echolocation.
To test the hypothesis that Parnell's mustached bat shares Prestin gene changes with Old World bats due to similar echolocation.

Main Methods:

Sequencing the Prestin coding region in Parnell's mustached bat (Pteronotus parnellii) and related species.
Phylogenetic analysis of Prestin gene and amino acid sequences.
Comparative sequence analysis to identify amino acid replacements.

Main Results:

Phylogenetic analyses revealed P. parnellii clustered with its sister species, not Old World bats.
P. parnellii shared most amino acid changes with its congeners, not convergent changes seen in other bats.
No evidence of positive selection was found in the P. parnellii lineage.

Conclusions:

The adaptive Prestin gene changes observed in Old World bats are not essential for CF echolocation in P. parnellii.
Convergent evolution of CF echolocation does not necessitate common changes in the Prestin gene.
Suggests alternative molecular mechanisms may underlie the evolution of specialized echolocation.