5 questions on Bats with Yan Liang

Dr Yan Liang is an expert in evolutionary and comparative genomics. Thanks to a wealth of infrastructure and sample resources, at the Wellcome Sanger Institute she studies large-scale genomic datasets.

Yan completed her PhD in China studying basal insects, before moving to London to study marine worms during her first postdoctoral position. Nowadays Yan’s research is focussed on bats and the non-coding or unannotated regions of the genome, sometimes called the dark genome. These regions can contain the important clues about extraordinary biological diversity and the evolutionary history of bats.

Don’t be spooked by the dark DNA discussion – hang around for the rest of the blog to learn more about the incredible world of bat genomics.

Getting high-quality biological samples from protected, rare, or geographically restricted wild bats is a major hurdle. Producing high-quality reference genomes requires long, intact stretches of DNA , but sample volumes from wildlife are often extremely limited and require appropriate ethical approvals and collection permits.

Through large collaborations like Bat1K and experts we have here at the Sanger Institute, precious biological samples are processed through a genome engine of high-throughput sequencing, assembly, and quality control. It’s after all these processes have produced high-quality genomes that my expertise comes in. I use comparative genomics and dark genome analysis to extract new evolutionary insights from underexplored regions of the genome.

In this way, I’m a genome explorer. I did not participate in fieldwork for Bat1K myself – my role begins once the genomes are ready to explore.

Building a reference genome library for life on Earth allows us to understand how species adapt and evolve. Because bats are mammals with extreme adaptations such as powered flight, echolocation, exceptional longevity, and tolerance to some viral infections, we can work to understand their genomes and at the same time gain direct insights into fundamental mammalian biology.

Bat genomes can contribute to our understanding of processes like human ageing, immunity, and disease. Sequencing biodiversity satisfies fundamental curiosity about how life evolved and diversified while simultaneously acting as a potential resource for improving human health.

While we now have detailed genomic maps across bat diversity, sequence data are just the foundation. I focus on regulatory genomics, which is the understanding of how gene regulation evolves and how genomic changes translate into complex physical traits like lifespan, immune responses, and sensory adaptations.

At the same time, the Bat1K consortium continues to broaden sampling across remaining bat lineages to refine our understanding of their deeper evolutionary relationships. There will definitely be more bat genomes in the future!

I love using quantitative and comparative approaches to navigate billions of pieces of sequence data and reveal fundamental insights into how species evolved. I also deeply value the human element of Bat1K. For two years, our global community met online weekly. This has brought together researchers with very different expertise across genomics, evolution and palaeontology, all contributing different pieces to build one big evolutionary story. It has been a very special scientific experience, and I really appreciate having been part of it.

When pressed, there was no way that Yan could choose a favourite bat, but she admitted to a growing fascination with New World leaf-nosed bats, a remarkably diverse family of bats.

What is next for Sanger’s resident bat genome expert? Yan hopes to spread her wings and fly further afield to enhance her bat-expertise.

There are so many questions in bat ecology, physiology and genomics left to answer – it would be hard to keep bats off Yan’s radar…or rather, sonar!