Abstract
Bats are mostly insectivorous or phytophagous. It is hypothesized that bats are evolved from small insectivorous mammals. Therefore, the digestive and metabolic systems of phytophagous and insectivorous bats must have evolved differently to adapt to their dietary habits. To investigate the difference in sugar tolerance in bats, we determined changes in blood glucose levels after intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of glucose in three species of phytophagous and four species of insectivorous bats under resting conditions. Results showed that phytophagous bats eliminated blood glucose faster than insectivorous bats. All three species of fruit bats reduced blood glucose to fasting levels within 30–45 min, whereas all insectivorous bats failed to lower blood glucose to fasting levels even 120 min after i.p. glucose injection. Taken together, results of this study suggest that bats have undergone adaptations and become diversified in dietary habits.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Altringham JD (1996) Bats: biology and behaviour. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Amitai O, Holtze S, Barkan S et al (2010) Fruit bats (Pteropodidae) fuel their metabolism rapidly and directly with exogenous sugars. J Exp Biol 213(15):2693–2699
Balcombe JP, Barnard ND, Sandusky C (2004) Laboratory routines cause animal stress. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 43(6):42–51
Bassett JE (2004) Role of urea in the postprandial urine concentration cycle of the insectivorous bat Antrozous pallidus. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 137(2):271–284
Caviedes-Vidal E, Chediack JG, Cruz-Neto AP et al (2004) Sugar absorption in bats. Are they mammals or birds? Integr Compar Biol 44(6):534
Caviedes-Vidal E, Karasov WH, Chediack JG et al (2008) Paracellular absorption: a bat breaks the mammal paradigm. PLoS One 3(1):e1425
Chippendale GM (1978) The functions of carbohydrates in insect life processes. In: Rockstein M (ed) Biochemistry of insects. Academic Press, London, pp 2–57
Datzmann T, von Helversen O, Mayer F (2010) Evolution of nectarivory in phyllostomid bats (Phyllostomidae Gray, 1825, Chiroptera: Mammalia). BMC Evol Biol 10(1):165
del Rio CM (1994) Nutritional ecology of fruit-eating and flower-visiting birds and bats. The digestive system in mammals: food, form and function. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 103–127
del Rio CM, Karasov WH (1990) Digestion strategies in nectar-and fruit-eating birds and the sugar composition of plant rewards. Am Nat 136(5):618–637
del Rio CM, Baker HG, Baker I (1992) Ecological and evolutionary implications of digestive processes: bird preferences and the sugar constituents of floral nectar and fruit pulp. Experientia 48(6):544–551
Hill JE, Smith JD (1984) Bats: a natural history. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Karasov WH, Hume ID (1997) Vertebrate gastrointestinal system. Compr Physiol 119:853–859
Keegan DJ (1984) Glucose absorption in the fruit bat studied using the intestinal ring method. S Afr J Sci 80:132
Kunz TH (1988) Ecological and behavioral methods for the study of bats. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington
Kunz TH, Fenton MB (2003) Bat ecology. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Ma J, Jones G, Zhang S et al (2003) Dietary analysis confirms that Rickett’s big-footed bat (Myotis ricketti) is a piscivore. J Zool 261(3):245–248
Madara JL, Pappenheimer JR (1987) Structural basis for physiological regulation of paracellular pathways in intestinal epithelia. J Membr Biol 100(1):149–164
McNab BK (1973) Energetics and the distribution of vampires. J Mammal 54(1):131–144
Michelmore AJ, Keegan DJ, Kramer B (1998) Immunocytochemical identification of endocrine cells in the pancreas of the fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus. Gen Comp Endocrinol 110(3):319–325
Murphy WJ, Eizirik E, Johnson WE et al (2001) Molecular phylogenetics and the origins of placental mammals. Nature 409(6820):614
Norberg UM, Fenton MB (1988) Carnivorous bats? Biol J Linnean Soc 33(4):383–394
Pappenheimer JR (1987) Physiological regulation of transepithelial impedance in the intestinal mucosa of rats and hamsters. J Membr Biol 100(1):137–148
Pappenheimer JR, Reiss KZ (1987) Contribution of solvent drag through intercellular junctions to absorption of nutrients by the small intestine of the rat. J Membr Biol 100(1):123–136
Protzek AOP, Rafacho A, Viscelli BA et al (2010) Insulin and glucose sensitivity, insulin secretion and β-cell distribution in endocrine pancreas of the fruit bat Artibeus lituratus. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 157(2):142–148
Schondube JE, Herrera-M LG, del Rio CM (2001) Diet and the evolution of digestion and renal function in phyllostomid bats. Zoology 104(1):59–73
Shen B, Han X, Zhang J et al (2012) Adaptive evolution in the glucose transporter 4 gene Slc2a4 in Old World fruit bats (Family: Pteropodidae). PLoS One 7(4):e33197
Teeling EC, Madsen O, Van Den Bussche RA et al (2002) Microbat paraphyly and the convergent evolution of a key innovation in Old World rhinolophoid microbats. Proc Natl Acad Sci 99(3):1431–1436
Teeling EC, Madsen O, Murphy WJ et al (2003) Nuclear gene sequences confirm an ancient link between New Zealand’s short-tailed bat and South American noctilionoid bats. Mol Phylogenet Evol 28(2):308–319
Teeling EC, Springer MS, Madsen O et al (2005) A molecular phylogeny for bats illuminates biogeography and the fossil record. Science 307(5709):580–584
Tracy CR, McWhorter TJ, Korine C et al (2007) Absorption of sugars in the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus): a paradox explained. J Exp Biol 210(10):1726–1734
Widmaier EP, Kunz TH (1993) Basal, diurnal, and stress-induced levels of glucose and glucocorticoids in captive bats. J Exp Biol 265(5):533–540
Zhang Q (2017) Comparison of glucose metabolism capacity and islet cell characteristics between Cynopterus sphinx and Hipposideros armiger. Central South University of Forestry and Technology, ChangSha
Acknowledgements
We thank Hui Liu, Qin Zhang, Qiqi Shen, and Jiao Zhao for their help with animal experiments, Quangsheng Liu for valuable advices. We also thank Prof. Yi-Hsuan Pan for providing experimental material. This work was supported by grants from the GDAS Special Project of Science and Technology Development (2017GDASCX-0107 and 2018GDASCX-0107), the Science & Technology Planning Project of Guangzhou (201707010128), and the Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Program (2018B030324001).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
XP, XH, and LZ designed the study. XP performed the experiments. XP, XH, YS, JL, HX, and JW collected bats. XP, LZ, XH, YS, JL, HX, and JW analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by Noga Kronfeld-Schor.
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Peng, X., He, X., Sun, Y. et al. Difference in glucose tolerance between phytophagous and insectivorous bats. J Comp Physiol B 189, 751–756 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-019-01242-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-019-01242-8