Landmark Bat Genome Study Traces Origins to Europe 65 Million Years Ago

Key facts

• A study published September 23 in the journal Nature suggests bats originated in Europe around 65 million years ago, not Africa, North America, or Asia.
• The research is the largest-ever analysis of bat genomes and fossils, involving over 130 scientists from around the world.
• Scientists analyzed genomes of 103 species from all 21 living bat families and compared physical characteristics across 65 species, including 44 fossils.
• After arising in Europe, bats dispersed to Africa, then Asia, the Americas, and Australia.
• The study adds to the debate over whether flight or echolocation evolved first, with new evidence pushing back the timeline on echolocation.
• The work is part of the Bat1K initiative, launched in 2017 to sequence and analyze genomes of every living bat species.
• Findings could aid conservation efforts, especially for white-nose syndrome, a fatal fungal disease discovered in 2006 that has killed millions of bats in the U.S. and Canada.
• The research may help uncover genetic bases for bats' long lifespans (around ten times longer than expected) and resistance to viruses like Ebola, Nipah, and Marburg, with potential benefits for human health.