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Camacho J, Bernal-Rivera A, Peña V, Morales-Sosa P, Robb SMC, Russell J, Yi K, Wang Y, Tsuchiya D, Murillo-García OE, Rohner N. Sugar assimilation underlying dietary evolution of Neotropical bats. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:1735-1750. [PMID: 39198571 PMCID: PMC11383804 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02485-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2024] [Indexed: 09/01/2024]
Abstract
Dietary specializations in animals lead to adaptations in morphology, anatomy and physiology. Neotropical bats, with their high taxonomic and trophic diversity, offer a unique perspective on diet-driven evolutionary adaptations. Here we assess the metabolic response to different dietary sugars among wild-caught bats. We found that insectivorous bats had a pronounced metabolic response to trehalose, whereas bats with nectar and fruit-based diets showed significantly higher blood glucose levels in response to glucose and sucrose, reaching levels over 750 mg dl-1. The genomic analysis of 22 focal species and two outgroup species identified positive selection for the digestive enzyme trehalase in insect eaters, while sucrase-isomaltase showed selection in lineages with omnivorous and nectar diets. By examining anatomical and cellular features of the small intestine, we discovered that dietary sugar proportion strongly impacted numerous digestive traits, providing valuable insight into the physiological implications of molecular adaptations. Using hybridization chain reaction (HCR) RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization, we observed unusually high expression in the glucose transporter gene Slc2a2 in nectar bats, while fruit bats increased levels of Slc5a1 and Slc2a5. Overall, this study highlights the intricate interplay between molecular, morphological and physiological aspects of diet evolution, offering new insights into the mechanisms of dietary diversification and sugar assimilation in mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmin Camacho
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, USA.
| | - Andrea Bernal-Rivera
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, USA
- Grupo de Investigación en Ecología Animal, Departamento de Biología, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
| | - Valentina Peña
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | | | - Sofia M C Robb
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | | | - Kexi Yi
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | - Yongfu Wang
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | - Dai Tsuchiya
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | - Oscar E Murillo-García
- Grupo de Investigación en Ecología Animal, Departamento de Biología, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.
| | - Nicolas Rohner
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, USA.
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA.
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Ingelson-Filpula WA, Kadamani KL, Ojaghi M, Pamenter ME, Storey KB. Hypoxia-induced downregulation of RNA m 6A protein machinery in the naked mole-rat heart. Biochimie 2024; 225:125-132. [PMID: 38788827 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2024.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2024] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
Naked mole-rats, Heterocephalus glaber, are champion hypoxia-tolerant rodents that live under low oxygen conditions in their subterranean burrows. Detrimental effects of low oxygen can be mitigated through metabolic rate depression (MRD), metabolic reorganization, and global downregulation of nonessential cellular processes. Recent research has progressively implicated epigenetic modifications - rapid, reversible changes to gene expression that do not alter the DNA sequence itself - as major players in implementing and maintaining MRD. N6-adenosine (m6A) methylation is the most prevalent mammalian RNA modification and is responsible for pre-mRNA processing and mRNA export from the nucleus. Hence, m6A -mediated conformational changes alter the cellular fate of transcripts. The present study investigated the role of m6A RNA methylation responses to 24 h of hypoxia exposure in H. glaber cardiac tissue. Total protein levels of m6A writers/readers/erasers, m6A demethylase activity, and total m6A quantification were measured under normoxic vs. hypoxic conditions in H. glaber heart. While there was no change in either demethylase activity or total m6A content, many proteins of the m6A pathway were downregulated during hypoxia. Overall, m6A may not be a signature hypoxia-responsive characteristic in H. glaber heart, but downregulation of the protein machinery involved in m6A cycling points to an alternate biological involvement. Further research will explore other forms of RNA modifications and other epigenetic mechanisms to determine the controls on hypoxia endurance in this subterranean mammal.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Aline Ingelson-Filpula
- Affiliation: Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1S 5B6.
| | - Karen L Kadamani
- Biology Department, University of Ottawa, Marie-Curie Pvt, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 9A7, Canada
| | - Mohammad Ojaghi
- Biology Department, University of Ottawa, Marie-Curie Pvt, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 9A7, Canada
| | - Matthew E Pamenter
- Biology Department, University of Ottawa, Marie-Curie Pvt, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 9A7, Canada; Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kenneth B Storey
- Affiliation: Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1S 5B6
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3
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Park TJ, Reznick J. Extreme Physiology Extreme Tolerance to Hypoxia, Hypercapnia, and Pain in the Naked Mole-Rat. J Muscle Res Cell Motil 2023; 44:61-72. [PMID: 35854159 PMCID: PMC10329625 DOI: 10.1007/s10974-022-09623-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/04/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Challenging environmental conditions can drive the evolution of extreme physiological traits. The naked mole-rat has evolved to survive and thrive in a low oxygen, high carbon dioxide environment that would be deadly to humans and most other mammals. The naked mole-rat's lifestyle is unusual in that this species combines subterranean living and living in large, social groups of up to 300 + individuals. Many respiring animals in a closed environment can lead to depletion of oxygen (hypoxia) and accumulation of carbon dioxide (hypercapnia). Naked mole-rats display a variety of physiological traits that negate the adverse effects of living in this atmosphere. For hypoxia tolerance, naked mole-rats have a low resting metabolism, high affinity hemoglobin, intrinsic brain tolerance, the ability to use fructose for anaerobic glycolysis, and the ability to enter a low energy, suspended animation-like state. For hypercapnia tolerance, these animals have a mutation in a voltage gated sodium channel that effectively eliminates neuronal responses to tissue acidosis. In other mammals, acidosis from exposure to high concentrations of carbon dioxide induces pain and pulmonary edema. Understanding these mechanisms of extreme physiology is not only inherently interesting, but it may lead to biomedical breakthroughs in research on heart attacks, strokes, and pain pathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Park
- Department of Biological Sciences and Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States of America.
| | - Jane Reznick
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
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Amoroso VG, Zhao A, Vargas I, Park TJ. Naked Mole-Rats Demonstrate Profound Tolerance to Low Oxygen, High Carbon Dioxide, and Chemical Pain. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13050819. [PMID: 36899677 PMCID: PMC10000161 DOI: 10.3390/ani13050819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Revised: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber) are very unusual among subterranean mammals in that they live in large colonies and are extremely social, spending large amounts of time gathered together in underground nests more than a meter below the surface. Many respiring individuals resting in deep, poorly ventilated nests deplete the oxygen supply and increase the concentration of carbon dioxide. Consistent with living in that atmosphere, naked mole-rats tolerate levels of low oxygen and high carbon dioxide that are deadly to most surface-dwelling mammals. Naked mole-rats appear to have evolved a number of remarkable adaptations to be able to thrive in this harsh atmosphere. In order to successfully survive low oxygen atmospheres, they conserve energy utilization by reducing the physiological activity of all organs, manifest by reduced heart rate and brain activity. Amazingly, they resort to the anaerobic metabolism of fructose rather than glucose as a fuel to generate energy when challenged by anoxia. Similarly, high carbon dioxide atmospheres normally cause tissue acidosis, while naked mole-rats have a genetic mutation preventing both acid-induced pain and pulmonary edema. Together, these putative adaptations and the tolerances they provide make the naked mole-rat an important model for studying a host of biomedical challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vince G Amoroso
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
| | - Aishi Zhao
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
| | - Isabel Vargas
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
| | - Thomas J Park
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
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Ingelson-Filpula WA, Cheng H, Eaton L, Pamenter ME, Storey KB. Small RNA sequencing in hypoxic naked mole-rat hearts suggests microRNA regulation of RNA- and translation-related processes. FEBS Lett 2022; 596:2821-2833. [PMID: 36120811 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.14499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) regularly endures intermittent periods of hypoxia in its burrows, surviving in part due to metabolic rate depression (MRD)-a strategy of conserving cellular resources by downregulating nonessential gene expression and reorganizing cellular processes. MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, noncoding RNAs already implicated for their roles in numerous models of extreme environmental stress; given their rapid, reversible nature, they are ideal for implementing MRD. We performed small RNA sequencing on cardiac tissue from normoxic vs. 24 h hypoxic naked mole-rats, and used bioinformatics to predict eighteen miRNAs which may be differentially regulated during hypoxia. Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway mapping further suggest these miRNAs play roles in largely translation-related functions, including RNA processing and catabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Aline Ingelson-Filpula
- Institute of Biochemistry and Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, Canada
| | - Hang Cheng
- Biology Department, University of Ottawa, Marie-Curie Pvt, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 9A7, Canada
| | - Liam Eaton
- Biology Department, University of Ottawa, Marie-Curie Pvt, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 9A7, Canada
| | - Matthew E Pamenter
- Biology Department, University of Ottawa, Marie-Curie Pvt, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 9A7, Canada.,Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kenneth B Storey
- Institute of Biochemistry and Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, Canada
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D’Alessio S, Cheng H, Eaton L, Kraev I, Pamenter ME, Lange S. Acute Hypoxia Alters Extracellular Vesicle Signatures and the Brain Citrullinome of Naked Mole-Rats (Heterocephalus glaber). Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23094683. [PMID: 35563075 PMCID: PMC9100269 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23094683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs) and extracellular vesicles (EVs) may be indicative biomarkers of physiological and pathological status and adaptive responses, including to diseases and disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) and related to hypoxia. While these markers have been studied in hypoxia-intolerant mammals, in vivo investigations in hypoxia-tolerant species are lacking. Naked mole-rats (NMR) are among the most hypoxia-tolerant mammals and are thus a good model organism for understanding natural and beneficial adaptations to hypoxia. Thus, we aimed to reveal CNS related roles for PADs in hypoxia tolerance and identify whether circulating EV signatures may reveal a fingerprint for adaptive whole-body hypoxia responses in this species. We found that following in vivo acute hypoxia, NMR: (1) plasma-EVs were remodelled, (2) whole proteome EV cargo contained more protein hits (including citrullinated proteins) and a higher number of associated KEGG pathways relating to the total proteome of plasma-EVs Also, (3) brains had a trend for elevation in PAD1, PAD3 and PAD6 protein expression, while PAD2 and PAD4 were reduced, while (4) the brain citrullinome had a considerable increase in deiminated protein hits with hypoxia (1222 vs. 852 hits in normoxia). Our findings indicate that circulating EV signatures are modified and proteomic content is reduced in hypoxic conditions in naked mole-rats, including the circulating EV citrullinome, while the brain citrullinome is elevated and modulated in response to hypoxia. This was further reflected in elevation of some PADs in the brain tissue following acute hypoxia treatment. These findings indicate a possible selective role for PAD-isozymes in hypoxia response and tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefania D’Alessio
- Tissue Architecture and Regeneration Research Group, School of Life Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Westminster, London W1W 6 UW, UK;
| | - Hang Cheng
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada; (H.C.); (L.E.); (M.E.P.)
| | - Liam Eaton
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada; (H.C.); (L.E.); (M.E.P.)
| | - Igor Kraev
- Electron Microscopy Suite, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK;
| | - Matthew E. Pamenter
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada; (H.C.); (L.E.); (M.E.P.)
- Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada
| | - Sigrun Lange
- Tissue Architecture and Regeneration Research Group, School of Life Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Westminster, London W1W 6 UW, UK;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +44-(0)-20-7911-5000 (ext. 64832)
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