4. Discussion
Comparative transcriptomics has been widely used in the study of the phenotypic adaptability (Mason and Taylor, 2015; Mitterboeck et al., 2017; Morandin et al., 2016; Pespeni et al., 2017). Comparative analysis of auditory perception can help to elucidate the molecular basis that underpins different auditory capabilities (Dong et al., 2016). In this study, we sequenced the transcriptome of six rhinolophids, including five species in the macrotis group and one closely related species R. pusillus , and identified some important genes relevant toRhinolophus species adaptation. The results showed that species within the macrotis group had physiological adaptations in the process of evolution.
Here, we found evidence that some hearing-related genes, visual-related genes, and energy metabolism-related genes have undergone Darwin selection associated with the evolution of special echolocation frequency. Positive selection acting on hearing-related genes in rhinolophids might result from the extreme selectivity used in auditory processing by these species.