Dietary sugar as a direct fuel for flight in the nectarivorous bat <i>Glossophaga soricina</i>

Welch, Kenneth C.; Suarez, Raul K.

doi:10.1242/jeb.012252

Cited by 71 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Some authors considered that the speed of intestinal glucose absorption and cellular glucose transport would limit the utilization rate of exogenous fuel (Hayashi, Wojtaszewski, & Goodyear, 1997; Jeukendrup & Jentjens, 2000). However, recent studies have shown that both nectar‐feeding and fruit‐feeding bats could fuel directly with exogenous substrate to meet almost entirely demands of energy metabolism both at rest and flight (Voigt & Speakman, 2007; Welch & Suarez, 2008). This finding implies that the fruit bats are capable of supplying their extremely high energetic needs during flight with recently ingested sufficient sugars.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, it is conceivable that fruit bats are well‐equipped with intestinal sucrase, a digestive enzyme that enables a rapid absorption of ingested sugar (Hernandez & del Rio, 1992). Both flying and resting fruit bats can use ingested sugars as a direct fuel, just like hummingbirds (Amitai et al., 2010; Voigt & Speakman, 2007; Welch & Suarez, 2008). Additionally, an elevated amount of sugar intake is parallel with an increased speed of paracellular nutrient absorption in fruit bats (Caviedes‐Vidal et al., 2008; Tracy et al., 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Flight is the key to postprandial blood glucose balance in the fruit batsEonycteris spelaeaandCynopterus sphinx

Peng¹,

He²,

Liu³

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Excessive sugar consumption could lead to high blood glucose levels that are harmful to mammalian health and life. Despite consuming large amounts of sugar‐rich food, fruit bats have a longer lifespan, raising the question of how these bats overcome potential hyperglycemia. We investigated the change of blood glucose level in nectar‐feeding bats (Eonycteris spelaea) and fruit‐eating bats (Cynopterus sphinx) via adjusting their sugar intake and time of flight. We found that the maximum blood glucose level of C. sphinx was higher than 24 mmol/L that is considered to be pathological in other mammals. After C. sphinx bats spent approximately 75% of their time to fly, their blood glucose levels dropped markedly, and the blood glucose of E. spelaea fell to the fast levels after they spent 70% time of fly. Thus, the level of blood glucose elevated with the quantity of sugar intake but declined with the time of flight. Our results indicate that high‐intensive flight is a key regulator for blood glucose homeostasis during foraging. High‐intensive flight may confer benefits to the fruit bats in foraging success and behavioral interactions and increases the efficiency of pollen and seed disposal mediated by bats.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flight is the key to postprandial blood glucose balance in the fruit batsEonycteris spelaeaandCynopterus sphinx

Peng¹,

He²,

Liu³

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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show abstract

“…H-FABP expression has been shown to increase during hibernation in little brown bats, indicating that H-FABP expression responds to changing demands for fatty acid transport in other contexts (Eddy and Storey, 2004). Although respirometry studies show that fasted bats can fly while oxidizing fatty acids (Welch et al, 2008), the available evidence does not conclusively demonstrate that migratory bats can use solely exogenous fatty acids to fuel migratory flight or that they make seasonal adjustments to muscle fatty acid transporters. As aerial foragers, it is possible that they always maintain a high muscle fatty acid uptake capacity to use ingested lipids as fuel.…”

Section: Meeting the Challenge Of Fat-fueled Flightmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fasted bats are capable of fueling flight with fat, at least for short periods (Welch et al, 2008). However, whether the fat used under these conditions is entirely supplied from adipose, as is required for long migratory flights, or involves intramuscular fat stores is unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Obese super athletes: fat-fueled migration in birds and bats

Guglielmo

2018

Journal of Experimental Biology

134

112

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Migratory birds are physiologically specialized to accumulate massive fat stores (up to 50-60% of body mass), and to transport and oxidize fatty acids at very high rates to sustain flight for many hours or days. Target gene, protein and enzyme analyses and recent -omic studies of bird flight muscles confirm that high capacities for fatty acid uptake, cytosolic transport, and oxidation are consistent features that make fat-fueled migration possible. Augmented circulatory transport by lipoproteins is suggested by field data but has not been experimentally verified. Migratory bats have high aerobic capacity and fatty acid oxidation potential; however, endurance flight fueled by adipose-stored fat has not been demonstrated. Patterns of fattening and expression of muscle fatty acid transporters are inconsistent, and bats may partially fuel migratory flight with ingested nutrients. Changes in energy intake, digestive capacity, liver lipid metabolism and body temperature regulation may contribute to migratory fattening. Although control of appetite is similar in birds and mammals, neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating seasonal changes in fuel store set-points in migrants remain poorly understood. Triacylglycerol of birds and bats contains mostly 16 and 18 carbon fatty acids with variable amounts of 18:2n-6 and 18:3n-3 depending on diet. Unsaturation of fat converges near 70% during migration, and unsaturated fatty acids are preferentially mobilized and oxidized, making them good fuel. Twenty and 22 carbon n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) may affect membrane function and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor signaling. However, evidence for dietary PUFA as doping agents in migratory birds is equivocal and requires further study.

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“…Bats can fuel flight with recently ingested nutrients (Welch et al, 2008;Voigt et al, 2010a) and use a mixed fuel strategy, relying on both recently ingested nutrients and endogenous fat stores (Voigt et al, 2012). When exogenous nutrients are not available, fasted bats can fuel short periods of flight, and possibly endurance migratory flights as well (Voigt et al, 2012), exclusively with stored fat (Welch et al, 2008;Voigt et al, 2010a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phenotypic flexibility in migrating bats: seasonal variation in body composition, organ sizes and fatty acid profiles

McGuire

Fenton

Guglielmo

2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYMany species of bats migrate long distances, but the physiological challenges of migration are poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that migration is physiologically demanding for bats by examining migration-related phenotypic flexibility. Both bats and birds are endothermic, flying vertebrates; therefore, we predicted that migration would result in similar physiological tradeoffs. We compared hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus) during spring migration and summer non-migratory periods, comparing our results with previous observations of birds. Migrating bats had reduced digestive organs, enlarged exercise organs, and fat stores had higher proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). These results are consistent with previous studies of migrating birds; however, we also found sex differences not typically associated with bird migration. Migrating female hoary bats increased the relative size of fat stores by reducing lean body components, while males maintained the same relative amount of fat in both seasons. The ratio of n-6 to n-3 PUFA in flight muscle membrane increased in migrating males and decreased in migrating females, consistent with males using torpor more frequently than females during spring migration. Enlarged exercise organs, reduced digestive organs and changes in adipose tissue composition reflect the elevated energetic demands of migration. Sexspecific patterns of fat storage and muscle membrane composition likely reflect challenges faced by females that migrate while pregnant. Our results provide some of the first insights into the physiological demands of bat migration and highlight key differences between bats and birds.

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Dietary sugar as a direct fuel for flight in the nectarivorous bat Glossophaga soricina

Cited by 71 publications

References 33 publications

Flight is the key to postprandial blood glucose balance in the fruit batsEonycteris spelaeaandCynopterus sphinx

Flight is the key to postprandial blood glucose balance in the fruit batsEonycteris spelaeaandCynopterus sphinx

Obese super athletes: fat-fueled migration in birds and bats

Phenotypic flexibility in migrating bats: seasonal variation in body composition, organ sizes and fatty acid profiles

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