The research reveals that bats metabolize amino acids almost immediately, in an adaptation that is an example of convergent evolution.
In a recent publication in Biology Letters, scientists explored the unique metabolism of vampire bats by observing them in treadmillsrevealing fascinating adaptations that help these animals optimize energy from their main food source: mammalian blood.
Researchers Giulia Rossi, from the University of Toronto, and Kenneth Welch, from McMaster University, sought to understand how vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) generate energy from your diet rich in proteins, unlike most vertebrates that rely heavily on carbohydrates and lipids.
This unique experience involved capture of 24 adult vampire bats in Belize and their grouping into specific dietary conditions. One group received cow blood enriched with leucine, an essential amino acid that helps with muscle repair.
Another was fed blood enriched with glycine, a non-essential amino acid with neurotransmitter functions. A control group consumed unmodified cow blood as a base. By monitoring the isotopically labeled amino acids in these meals, scientists were able to monitor quickly how bats metabolized amino acids during exercise.
Each bat was placed on a treadmill specially designed for this purpose and its oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production were measured at different exercise intensities. The treadmill speeds gradually increased, allowing scientists to study metabolic activity as the bats moved, explains the .
Remarkably, the enriched amino acid isotopes appeared rapidly in the bats’ exhaled breath, indicating a almost immediate metabolism of amino acids. This rapid decomposition contrasts with other animals that feed on blood, such as mosquitoes, which take longer to metabolize the blood proteins they ingest.
The results suggest that vampire bats have evolved to efficiently utilize amino acids from their protein-rich diet, regardless of whether they are essential or non-essential. This adaptation appears to be an example of convergent evolutiona phenomenon in which similar characteristics evolve independently in different species. In this case, vampire bats share metabolic similarities with blood-feeding insects, such as the tsetse fly, despite belonging to different biological groups.
The study offers new insights into how animals that feed only on blood have developed specialized metabolic pathways to thrive on their unique diets.
