Description of electrophoretic loci and tissue specific gene expression in the horseshoe bat genus Rhinolophus (Rhinolophidae)

Abstract

The number of loci encoding an enzyme system, tissue specificity of gene expression and the degree of gene expression in various tissues are often not mentioned in evolutionary studies, but could indirectly provide evidence of evolutionary relationships. Protein electrophoresis was used to study the distributions and tissue specificity of gene expression of enzymes encoded by 42 loci in Rhinolophus clivosus and R. landeri, the genetically most divergent of the ten species of southern African horseshoe bats. No differences in gene expression were found between R. clivosusand R. landeri and isozyme patterns may be compared with other bat species to derive possible phylogenetic relationships.