Current Biology
Volume 31, Issue 20, 25 October 2021, Pages 4667-4674.e6
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Nectar-feeding bats and birds show parallel molecular adaptations in sugar metabolism enzymes

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.018Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Nectar bats and birds show parallel positive selection in sugar metabolism genes

  • Metabolomic profiling supports elevated respiratory flux in nectar bats

  • Glycolytic enzymes of nectar bats show elevated catalytic activity

  • Adaptations in sugar metabolism may enable hovering and avoidance of glucose toxicity

Summary

In most vertebrates, the demand for glucose as the primary substrate for cellular respiration is met by the breakdown of complex carbohydrates, or energy is obtained by protein and lipid catabolism. In contrast, a few bat and bird species have convergently evolved to subsist on nectar, a sugar-rich mixture of glucose, fructose, and sucrose.1, 2, 3, 4 How these nectar-feeders have adapted to cope with life-long high sugar intake while avoiding the onset of metabolic syndrome and diabetes5, 6, 7 is not understood. We analyzed gene sequences obtained from 127 taxa, including 22 nectar-feeding bat and bird genera that collectively encompass four independent origins of nectarivory. We show these divergent taxa have undergone pervasive molecular adaptation in sugar catabolism pathways, including parallel selection in key glycolytic and fructolytic enzymes. We also uncover convergent amino acid substitutions in the otherwise evolutionarily conserved aldolase B (ALDOB), which catalyzes rate-limiting steps in fructolysis and glycolysis, and the mitochondrial gatekeeper pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), which links glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Metabolomic profile and enzyme functional assays are consistent with increased respiratory flux in nectar-feeding bats and help explain how these taxa can both sustain hovering flight and efficiently clear simple sugars. Taken together, our results indicate that nectar-feeding bats and birds have undergone metabolic adaptations that have enabled them to exploit a unique energy-rich dietary niche among vertebrates.

Keywords

nectarivory
hovering flight
glycolysis
glucose
fructose
convergence
transcriptomes
aldolase B
pyruvate dehydrogenase

Data and code availability

  • RNA-seq data have been deposited at NCBI GenBank/NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA) and are publicly available as of the date of publication. Accession numbers are listed in the key resources table. Enzyme activity data reported in this paper will be shared by the lead contact upon request.

  • This paper does not report original code.

  • Any additional information required to reanalyze the data reported in this paper is available from the lead contact upon request.

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