Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, have discovered how fruit bats can eat large amounts of sugary fruit without adverse health effects, providing insights into diabetes research. The pancreas and kidneys of fruit bats have evolved special physiological adaptations to efficiently process sugar and retain electrolytes, and this research could provide valuable knowledge for the development of new** methods for millions of people with diabetes in the United States.
A new study sheds light on human diabetes research by revealing how the unique physiology of fruit bats enables a healthy diet high in sugar.
High-sugar diets are bad news for humans and can lead to diabetes, obesity, and even cancer. However, fruit bats are able to survive and even thrive by eating up to twice their body weight of sugary fruit every day.
Now, scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, have discovered how fruit bats may have evolved to consume so much sugar, with potential implications for the 37 million people living with diabetes in the United States. The findings, published today (January 9, 2024) in the journal Nature Communications, state that the adaptations of the fruit bats' bodies can prevent them from ingesting large amounts of sugar that can be harmful to the body.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diabetes is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States, causing $237 billion in direct medical costs each year.
Learn about the unique physiology of fruit bats
Dr. Nadav Ahituv, director of the Institute of Human Genetics at the University of California, San Francisco, and co-first author, said"With diabetes, the body is unable to produce or detect insulin, leading to problems with blood sugar control. But the genetic system of fruit bats is perfect for controlling blood sugar. We hope to learn from this system and make better insulin or sugar sensing for humans**. "
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have found that the evolutionary adaptation of fruit bats allows them to thrive on a diet high in sugar, which provides potential revelations for diabetes in humans**.
Ashitov's team focused on the evolution of the bat pancreas and kidneys, which control blood sugar. They found that the pancreas of fruit bats had extra insulin-secreting cells as well as genetic changes to help it process large amounts of sugar compared to the pancreas of insect-eating bats. The kidneys of fruit bats are also adjusted to ensure that important electrolytes are retained from watery foods.
*Co-first author Wei Gordon, Ph.D., a recent graduate of the UCSF Tetrad program and assistant professor of biology at Monroe College, said:"Even a small change to a single letter of DNA can make this eating pattern feasible for fruit bats. We need to understand this high glucose metabolism to make progress in helping one-third of Americans prevent diabetes. "
Sweets without consequences
Every day, after 20 hours of sleep, fruit bats wake up for 4 hours and eat fruit in large gulps. And then back to the habitat.
To understand how fruit bats accomplish this sugar-eating feat, Ashitulf and Gordon collaborated with scientists from several institutions, including Yonsei University in South Korea and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, to compare Jamaican fruit bats to large brown bats that only eat insects.
The researchers analyzed both using a method to measure gene expression (which genes are on or off) and regulatory DNA (the part of DNA that controls gene expression) in a single cell.
ahituv said:"This newer single-cell technology can explain not only which types of cells in which organs, but also how these cells regulate gene expression to manage each diet. "
In fruit bats, the composition of the pancreas and kidneys has evolved to adapt to their diet. The pancreas has more cells to produce insulin, which tells the body to lower blood sugar, as well as more cells to produce glucagon, another major glucose-regulating hormone. At the same time, the fruit bat's kidneys have more cells that capture scarce salts as they filter their blood.
Zooming in, the regulatory DNA in these cells has evolved to the point where the corresponding genes can turn fruit metabolism on or off. Great brown bats, on the other hand, have more cells for breaking down proteins and conserving water. Gene expression in these cells is adjusted to fit the bug's diet.
The DNA tissue surrounding the insulin and glucagon genes in the two bats is markedly different"Gordon said. "DNA around genes used to be thought of'Garbage'But our data suggest that this regulatory DNA is likely to help fruit bats respond to sudden increases and decreases in blood sugar.
While some of the biological traits of fruit bats are similar to those of human diabetics, fruit bats seem to have evolved something that human sweets lovers dream of: sweets without sequelae.
Gordon said. "It's remarkable to take a step back from model organisms like lab mice and discover possible solutions to the human health crisis in nature. Bats have figured it out, and it's all in their DNA, the result of natural selection. "
Evolved superheroes
This research has benefited from a recent wave of research into bats to improve human health. Gordon and Ashitulf traveled to Belize to participate in the annual event with nearly 50 other bat researchers"Bat Tour"(bat-a-thon), which conducts a census of wild bats and collects field samples for scientific research. A Jamaican fruit bat captured during this event was used for glucose metabolism studies.
Bats are one of the most diverse mammal families, exemplars of evolutionary triumph, from their immune systems to their peculiar diets and more.
To me, bats are like superheroes, each with amazing superpowers, whether it's echolocation, flight, non-clotting bloodsqueezing, or eating fruit without diabetes,"Ashitov said. "This kind of work has only just begun"。
Compilation**: scitechdaily