Ecological constraints on highly evolvable olfactory receptor genes and morphology
Authors: Yohe Laurel R. , Fabbri Matteo , Lee Daniela , Davies Kalina T.J. , Yohe Thomas P. , Sánchez Miluska K.R. , Rengifo Edgardo M. , Hall Ronald , Mutumi Gregory , Hedrick Brandon P. , Sadier Alexa , Simmons Nancy B. , Sears Karen E. , Dumont Elizabeth , Rossiter Stephen J. , Bullar Bhart-Anjan S. , Dávalos Liliana M. 
Published: September 2021

While evolvability of genes and traits may promote specialization during species diversification, how ecology subsequently restricts such variation remains unclear. Chemosensation requires animals to decipher a complex chemical background to locate fitness-related resources, and thus the underlying genomic architecture and morphology must cope with constant exposure to a changing odorant landscape; detecting adaptation amidst extensive chemosensory diversity is an open challenge. Phyllostomid bats, an ecologically diverse clade that evolved plant-visiting from an insectivorous ancestor, suggest the evolution of novel food detection mechanisms is a key innovation: phyllostomids behaviorally rely strongly on olfaction, while echolocation is supplemental. If this is true, exceptional variation in underlying olfactory genes and phenotypes may have preceded dietary diversification. We compared olfactory receptor (OR) genes sequenced from olfactory epithelium transcriptomes and olfactory epithelium surface area of bats with differing diets. Surprisingly, although OR evolution rates were quite variable and generally high, they are largely independent of diet. Olfactory epithelial surface area, however, is relatively larger in plant-visiting bats and there is an inverse relationship between OR evolution rates and surface area. Relatively larger surface areas suggest greater reliance on olfactory detection and stronger constraint on maintaining an already diverse OR repertoire. Instead of the typical case in which specialization and elaboration is coupled with rapid diversification of associated genes, here the relevant genes are already evolving so quickly that increased reliance on smell has led to stabilizing selection, presumably to maintain the ability to consistently discriminate among specific odorants — a potential ecological constraint on sensory evolution.

Significance Statement

The evolutionary relationship between genes and morphology is complex to decipher, and macroevolutionary trends are often measured independently; this is especially challenging to quantify in unstable genomic regions or hypervariable traits. Odorant cues are detected by proteins encoded by the largest and fasted-evolving gene family in the mammalian genome and expressed in epithelia distributed on elaborate bony structures in the nose, posing a challenge to quantification. Yet, the direct interaction of the olfactory system with environmental signals strongly suggest that selection shapes its immense diversity. In neotropical bats, where reliance on plant-visiting evolved from an insectivorous ancestor, we discovered clear dietary differences amongst species, but only after considering morphological and molecular data simultaneously, emphasizing the power of a coupled analysis.