Bat1K is a project to sequence the genomes of all living bat species to the level of chromosomes and then make the data publicly available. The project began in 2017.[1]
History
editBat1K was founded in 2017. Zoologist and geneticist Emma Teeling and neurogeneticist Sonja Vernes are co-founders.[1] The Bat1K consortium includes researchers from institutions such as University College Dublin, University of Bristol, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, and Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. Notable members include Eugene Myers, Liliana M. Dávalos, Nancy Simmons, and Erich Jarvis.[2][3] As of November 2017, there were 148 members in total, consisting of bat biologists, genome technologists, conservationists, and computational scientists.[4]
Applications
editSeveral research areas could be furthered by documenting bat genomes. These include healthy ageing, disease resistance, ecosystem function and ecosystem services, sensory perception, communication, limb development, and mammal genome structure.[4]
Results
editIn 2020, the genomes of six species were published: the greater horseshoe bat, Egyptian fruit bat, pale spear-nosed bat, greater mouse-eared bat, Kuhl's pipistrelle, and the velvety free-tailed bat. These genomes were called "comparable to the best reference-quality genomes that have so far been generated for any eukaryote with a gigabase-sized genome".[5] In 2020, the project's stated goal was to sequence an additional 27 genomes, with a representative from each family of bats, within the next year.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Pennisi, Elizabeth (22 July 2020). "How bats have outsmarted viruses—including coronaviruses—for 65 million years". Science. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ "The genetic basis of bats' superpowers revealed". University of Bristol. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ "Genomic Basis of Bat Superpowers Could Provide New Insights into Coronavirus Resistance". Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. 23 July 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ a b Teeling, Emma C.; Vernes, Sonja C.; Dávalos, Liliana M.; Ray, David A.; Gilbert, M. Thomas P.; Myers, Eugene (2018). "Bat Biology, Genomes, and the Bat1K Project: To Generate Chromosome-Level Genomes for All Living Bat Species". Annual Review of Animal Biosciences. 6: 23–46. doi:10.1146/annurev-animal-022516-022811. hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-002E-5F30-4. PMID 29166127.
- ^ Jebb, David; Huang, Zixia; Pippel, Martin; Hughes, Graham M.; Lavrichenko, Ksenia; Devanna, Paolo; Winkler, Sylke; Jermiin, Lars S.; Skirmuntt, Emilia C.; Katzourakis, Aris; et al. (2020). "Six reference-quality genomes reveal evolution of bat adaptations". Nature. 583 (7817): 578–584. Bibcode:2020Natur.583..578J. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2486-3. hdl:21.11116/0000-0006-C116-7. PMC 8075899. PMID 32699395. S2CID 220716856.