Seba's short-tailed bats (Carollia perspicillata) are a member of the Phyllostomidae family, or New World leaf-nosed bats. Their unique nose structure allows for precise echolocation, although the eyesight and sense of smell are excellent as well [1]. The Seba's short-tailed bat in particular have been shown to have the most directional sonar beams when compared to other echolocating bats [2].
They are also known as the short-tailed fruit bats, their primary food source the many fruit species native to Central and Southern America. Outside of fruiting season, Seba's short-tailed bats supplement their diet with nectar and pollen. Consequentially, the Seba's short-tailed bat play an integral role in the pollination and seed dispersal for a number of plant species in the forests they inhabit [3].
Today, we share the chromosome0-length genome assembly for Seba's short-tailed bat. This is a Hi-C upgrade from the short-read draft (CarPer_v1_BIUU / GCA_004027735.1, cN50=10.3kb; sN50=10.7kb) generated by the Zoonomia Consortium (Genereux et al., Nature, 2020). We thank the Houston Zoo for providing us with the sample for the Hi-C upgrade!
Carollia perspicillata has one of the smallest chromosome numbers reported for bats: in agreement with the assembly, the expected karyotype is 2n=20 for XX females (and 2n=21 for males). This is our 10th Chiroptera species we've released here at the DNA Zoo, giving us an opportunity to finally explore the unusual karyotype of the species as compared to other bats.
Check out below how the 1o assembled chromosomes of the Seba's short-tailed bat relate to those of the straw-colored fruit bat and the large flying fox from among the bat species previously released. We include also the interactive contact map for the chromosomes below!
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