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Hunt A, Merola GP, Carpenter T, Jaeggi AV. Evolutionary perspectives on substance and behavioural addictions: Distinct and shared pathways to understanding, prediction and prevention. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 159:105603. [PMID: 38402919 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Addiction poses significant social, health, and criminal issues. Its moderate heritability and early-life impact, affecting reproductive success, poses an evolutionary paradox: why are humans predisposed to addictive behaviours? This paper reviews biological and psychological mechanisms of substance and behavioural addictions, exploring evolutionary explanations for the origin and function of relevant systems. Ancestrally, addiction-related systems promoted fitness through reward-seeking, and possibly self-medication. Today, psychoactive substances disrupt these systems, leading individuals to neglect essential life goals for immediate satisfaction. Behavioural addictions (e.g. video games, social media) often emulate ancestrally beneficial behaviours, making them appealing yet often irrelevant to contemporary success. Evolutionary insights have implications for how addiction is criminalised and stigmatised, propose novel avenues for interventions, anticipate new sources of addiction from emerging technologies such as AI. The emerging potential of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonists targeting obesity suggest the satiation system may be a natural counter to overactivation of the reward system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Hunt
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
| | | | - Tom Carpenter
- College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Adrian V Jaeggi
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
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2
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Makopa TP, Modikwe G, Vrhovsek U, Lotti C, Sampaio JP, Zhou N. The marula and elephant intoxication myth: assessing the biodiversity of fermenting yeasts associated with marula fruits ( Sclerocarya birrea). FEMS MICROBES 2023; 4:xtad018. [PMID: 37854251 PMCID: PMC10581541 DOI: 10.1093/femsmc/xtad018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The inebriation of wild African elephants from eating the ripened and rotting fruit of the marula tree is a persistent myth in Southern Africa. However, the yeasts responsible for alcoholic fermentation to intoxicate the elephants remain poorly documented. In this study, we considered Botswana, a country with the world's largest population of wild elephants, and where the marula tree is indigenous, abundant and protected, to assess the occurrence and biodiversity of yeasts with a potential to ferment and subsequently inebriate the wild elephants. We collected marula fruits from over a stretch of 800 km in Botswana and isolated 106 yeast strains representing 24 yeast species. Over 93% of these isolates, typically known to ferment simple sugars and produce ethanol comprising of high ethanol producers belonging to Saccharomyces, Brettanomyces, and Pichia, and intermediate ethanol producers Wickerhamomyces, Zygotorulaspora, Candida, Hanseniaspora, and Kluyveromyces. Fermentation of marula juice revealed convincing fermentative and aromatic bouquet credentials to suggest the potential to influence foraging behaviour and inebriate elephants in nature. There is insufficient evidence to refute the aforementioned myth. This work serves as the first work towards understanding the biodiversity marula associated yeasts to debunk the myth or approve the facts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tawanda Proceed Makopa
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Plot 10071, Boseja, Palapye, Botswana, 00267
| | - Gorata Modikwe
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Plot 10071, Boseja, Palapye, Botswana, 00267
| | - Urska Vrhovsek
- Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michelle All'Adige, Via E. Mach, 1, Italy, 38010
| | - Cesare Lotti
- Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michelle All'Adige, Via E. Mach, 1, Italy, 38010
| | - José Paulo Sampaio
- UCIBIO, Departamento de Ciencias da Vida, Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal , 2829-516
| | - Nerve Zhou
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Plot 10071, Boseja, Palapye, Botswana, 00267
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3
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Paraíso F, Pontes A, Neves J, Lebani K, Hutzler M, Zhou N, Sampaio JP. Do microbes evade domestication? - Evaluating potential ferality among diastatic Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Food Microbiol 2023; 115:104320. [PMID: 37567630 DOI: 10.1016/j.fm.2023.104320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023]
Abstract
Certain lineages of the wine, beer and bread yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae have diastatic activity. They contain the chimeric gene STA1 that codes for an extracellular glucoamylase which enables the strains to degrade starch and dextrins. Beer contaminations by diastatic yeasts can be dangerous because they can cause super-attenuation due to the consumption of otherwise non-fermentable oligosaccharides, gushing and off-flavours. Given that diastatic yeasts can be used for beer fermentation it is important to understand the relationship between production and contaminant strains, their natural reservoirs and entry routes into the brewery. Here, we analyze real cases of contamination in a Portuguese craft brewery over a period of 18 months. By analyzing with whole genome sequencing several contaminants, we show that recurrent contaminations by diastatic yeasts are caused by environmental strains. Moreover, some beer contaminants were closely related to diastatic environmental strains isolated in Botswana. We observed the widespread presence of domestication signatures in diastatic strains. Moreover, the combined phylogeny of STA1 and its ancestor, SGA1, suggested a single STA1 origin, as ancient as the entire lineage of diastatic yeasts. Together, our results suggest that diastatic yeasts isolated in natural settings could be escaping from domestication settings and becoming feral.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisca Paraíso
- UCIBIO - Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit, Department of Life Sciences, Nova School of Science and Technology, Portugal; Associate Laboratory i4HB - Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, Nova School of Science and Technology, Portugal
| | - Ana Pontes
- UCIBIO - Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit, Department of Life Sciences, Nova School of Science and Technology, Portugal; Associate Laboratory i4HB - Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, Nova School of Science and Technology, Portugal
| | - Joana Neves
- UCIBIO - Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit, Department of Life Sciences, Nova School of Science and Technology, Portugal; Associate Laboratory i4HB - Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, Nova School of Science and Technology, Portugal
| | - Kebaneilwe Lebani
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana
| | - Mathias Hutzler
- Technical University of Munich, Research Center Weihenstephan for Brewing and Food Quality, Alte Akademie 3, 85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Nerve Zhou
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana
| | - José Paulo Sampaio
- UCIBIO - Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit, Department of Life Sciences, Nova School of Science and Technology, Portugal; Associate Laboratory i4HB - Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, Nova School of Science and Technology, Portugal.
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4
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Robinson K, Shah VH. Alcohol-Related Liver Disease. Clin Liver Dis (Hoboken) 2021; 18:93-106. [PMID: 34745586 PMCID: PMC8555460 DOI: 10.1002/cld.1162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Content available: Author Interview and Audio Recording.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Robinson
- Division of Gastroenterology and HepatologyMayo ClinicRochesterMN
| | - Vijay H. Shah
- Division of Gastroenterology and HepatologyMayo ClinicRochesterMN
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Mold A. Alcohol, health education and changing notions of risk in Britain, 1980–1990. DRUGS: EDUCATION, PREVENTION AND POLICY 2021; 28:48-58. [PMID: 33679012 PMCID: PMC7116859 DOI: 10.1080/09687637.2020.1724264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
This article explores the contentious definition and communication of alcohol consumption limits and their relationship to ideas about risk through an analysis of the development of health education materials during the 1980s. It argues that changing ideas about alcohol and risk, and their communication to the public, were a reflection of both specific developments in thinking about alcohol and the harm it could pose as well as broader shifts within public health policy, practice and outlook. Risk was understood as something experienced by individuals and populations, a conceptual framing that suggested different approaches. To get to grips with these issues, the article focuses on: (1) the definition of alcohol consumption limits; (2) the communication of these limits; and (3) the limits to limits. The problems experienced in defining and communicating limits suggests not only a ‘limit to limits’ but also to the entire notion of risk-based ‘sensible’ drinking as a strategy for health education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Mold
- Centre for History in Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
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Janiak MC, Pinto SL, Duytschaever G, Carrigan MA, Melin AD. Genetic evidence of widespread variation in ethanol metabolism among mammals: revisiting the 'myth' of natural intoxication. Biol Lett 2020; 16:20200070. [PMID: 32343936 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans have a long evolutionary relationship with ethanol, pre-dating anthropogenic sources, and possess unusually efficient ethanol metabolism, through a mutation that evolved in our last common ancestor with African great apes. Increased exposure to dietary ethanol through fermenting fruits and nectars is hypothesized to have selected for this in our lineage. Yet, other mammals have frugivorous and nectarivorous diets, raising the possibility of natural ethanol exposure and adaptation in other taxa. We conduct a comparative genetic analysis of alcohol dehydrogenase class IV (ADH IV) across mammals to provide insight into their evolutionary history with ethanol. We find genetic variation and multiple pseudogenization events in ADH IV, indicating the ability to metabolize ethanol is variable. We suggest that ADH enzymes are evolutionarily plastic and show promise for revealing dietary adaptation. We further highlight the derived condition of humans and draw attention to problems with modelling the physiological responses of other mammals on them, a practice that has led to potentially erroneous conclusions about the likelihood of natural intoxication in wild animals. It is a fallacy to assume that other animals share our metabolic adaptations, rather than taking into consideration each species' unique physiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mareike C Janiak
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr NW, Calgary AB T2N 1N4, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Swellan L Pinto
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr NW, Calgary AB T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Gwen Duytschaever
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr NW, Calgary AB T2N 1N4, Canada
| | | | - Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr NW, Calgary AB T2N 1N4, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, AB, Canada
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Abstract
Drosophila melanogaster is a human commensal and dietary generalist. A new study in its ancestral range in Africa finds that wild Drosophila melanogaster are specialists on marula fruit - fruits cached in caves by Pleistocene humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianthi Karageorgi
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 3040 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Teruyuki Matsunaga
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 3040 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Noah K Whiteman
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 3040 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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9
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Zungu MM, Downs CT. Effects of ethanol on fruit selection by frugivorous birds. AFRICAN ZOOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/15627020.2016.1276856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Manqoba M Zungu
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
| | - Colleen T Downs
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
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10
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Lindholm C, Altimiras J. Point-of-care devices for physiological measurements in field conditions. A smorgasbord of instruments and validation procedures. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2016; 202:99-111. [PMID: 27083239 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2016.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2016] [Revised: 03/30/2016] [Accepted: 04/09/2016] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Point-of-care (POC) devices provide quick diagnostic results that increase the efficiency of patient care. Many POC devices are currently available to measure metabolites, blood gases, hormones, disease biomarkers or pathogens in samples as diverse as blood, urine, feces or exhaled breath. This diversity is potentially very useful for the comparative physiologist in field studies if proper validation studies are carried out to justify the accuracy of the devices in non-human species under different conditions. Our review presents an account of physiological parameters that can be monitored with POC devices and surveys the literature for suitable quantitative and statistical procedures for comparing POC measurements with reference "gold standard" procedures. We provide a set of quantitative tools and report on different correlation coefficients (Lin's Concordance Correlation Coefficient or the more widespread Pearson correlation coefficient), describe the graphical assessment of variation using Bland-Altman plots and discuss the difference between Model I and Model II regression procedures. We also report on three validation datasets for lactate, glucose and hemoglobin measurements in birds using the newly proposed procedures. We conclude the review with a haphazard account of future developments in the field, emphasizing the interest in lab-on-a-chip devices to carry out more complex experimental measurements than the ones currently available in POC devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Lindholm
- Avian Behavioral Genomics and Physiology group, Division of Biology, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping Univ., SE-58183 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Jordi Altimiras
- Avian Behavioral Genomics and Physiology group, Division of Biology, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping Univ., SE-58183 Linköping, Sweden.
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11
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Goddard MR, Greig D. Saccharomyces cerevisiae: a nomadic yeast with no niche? FEMS Yeast Res 2015; 15:fov009. [PMID: 25725024 PMCID: PMC4444983 DOI: 10.1093/femsyr/fov009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/21/2015] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Different species are usually thought to have specific adaptations, which allow them to occupy different ecological niches. But recent neutral ecology theory suggests that species diversity can simply be the result of random sampling, due to finite population sizes and limited dispersal. Neutral models predict that species are not necessarily adapted to specific niches, but are functionally equivalent across a range of habitats. Here, we evaluate the ecology of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, one of the most important microbial species in human history. The artificial collection, concentration and fermentation of large volumes of fruit for alcohol production produce an environment in which S. cerevisiae thrives, and therefore it is assumed that fruit is the ecological niche that S. cerevisiae inhabits and has adapted to. We find very little direct evidence that S. cerevisiae is adapted to fruit, or indeed to any other specific niche. We propose instead a neutral nomad model for S. cerevisiae, which we believe should be used as the starting hypothesis in attempting to unravel the ecology of this important microbe. It is assumed that Saccharomyces cerevisiae is adapted to inhabit fruits; however, we find very little evidence for adaptation to any niche. Instead, we propose a neutral nomad model for S. cerevisiae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew R Goddard
- The School of Biological Sciences, the University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand The School of Life Sciences, the University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN6 7DL, UK
| | - Duncan Greig
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön 24306, Germany Department of Genetics, Evolution, and Environment, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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12
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Jadhav S, Barua M. The Elephant Vanishes: impact of human-elephant conflict on people's wellbeing. Health Place 2012; 18:1356-65. [PMID: 22819603 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.06.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2012] [Revised: 06/21/2012] [Accepted: 06/29/2012] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Human-wildlife conflicts impact upon the wellbeing of marginalised people, worldwide. Although tangible losses from such conflicts are well documented, hidden health consequences remain under-researched. Based on preliminary clinical ethnographic inquiries and sustained fieldwork in Assam, India, this paper documents mental health antecedents and consequences including severe untreated psychiatric morbidity and substance abuse. The case studies presented make visible the hidden mental health dimensions of human-elephant conflict. The paper illustrates how health impacts of conflicts penetrate far deeper than immediate physical threat from elephants, worsens pre-existing mental illness of marginalised people, and leads to newer psychiatric and social pathologies. These conflicts are enacted and perpetuated in institutional spaces of inequality. The authors argue that both wildlife conservation and community mental health disciplines would be enhanced by coordinated intervention. The paper concludes by generating questions that are fundamental for a new interdisciplinary paradigm that bridges ecology and the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sushrut Jadhav
- UCL Mental Health Sciences Unit, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, Charles Bell House, 67-73 Riding House Street, London W1W 7EJ, UK.
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Hernández-Tobías A, Julián-Sánchez A, Piña E, Riveros-Rosas H. Natural alcohol exposure: Is ethanol the main substrate for alcohol dehydrogenases in animals? Chem Biol Interact 2011; 191:14-25. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2011.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2010] [Revised: 02/01/2011] [Accepted: 02/01/2011] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
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14
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Scale-dependent selection of greenness by African elephants in the Kruger-private reserve transboundary region, South Africa. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-010-0462-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Sánchez F, Melcón M, Korine C, Pinshow B. Ethanol ingestion affects flight performance and echolocation in Egyptian fruit bats. Behav Processes 2010; 84:555-8. [PMID: 20153407 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2010.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2009] [Revised: 02/02/2010] [Accepted: 02/06/2010] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Ethanol, a potential toxin for vertebrates, is present in all fleshy fruits and its content increases as the fruit ripens. Previously, we found that the marginal value of food for Egyptian fruit bats, Rousettus aegyptiacus, decreases when its ethanol content exceeds 1%. Therefore, we hypothesized that, if ingested, food containing >1% ethanol is toxic to these bats, probably causing inebriation that will affect flight and echolocation skills. We tested this hypothesis by flying Egyptian fruit bats in an indoor corridor and found that after ingesting ethanol-rich food bats flew significantly slower than when fed ethanol-free food. Also, the ingestion of ethanol significantly affected several variables of the bats' echolocation calls and behavior. We concluded that ethanol can be toxic to fruit bats; not only does it reduce the marginal value of food, but it also has negative physiological effects on their ability to fly competently and on their calling ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Sánchez
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84990 Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel.
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16
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Orbach DN, Veselka N, Dzal Y, Lazure L, Fenton MB. Drinking and flying: does alcohol consumption affect the flight and echolocation performance of phyllostomid bats? PLoS One 2010; 5:e8993. [PMID: 20126552 PMCID: PMC2813879 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0008993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2009] [Accepted: 01/07/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In the wild, frugivorous and nectarivorous bats often eat fermenting fruits and nectar, and thus may consume levels of ethanol that could induce inebriation. To understand if consumption of ethanol by bats alters their access to food and general survival requires examination of behavioural responses to its ingestion, as well as assessment of interspecific variation in those responses. We predicted that bats fed ethanol would show impaired flight and echolocation behaviour compared to bats fed control sugar water, and that there would be behavioural differences among species. Methodology/Principal Findings We fed wild caught Artibeus jamaicensis, A. lituratus, A. phaeotis, Carollia sowelli, Glossophaga soricina, and Sturnira lilium (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) sugar water (44 g of table sugar in 500 ml of water) or sugar water with ethanol before challenging them to fly through an obstacle course while we simultaneously recorded their echolocation calls. We used bat saliva, a non-invasive proxy, to measure blood ethanol concentrations ranging from 0 to >0.3% immediately before flight trials. Flight performance and echolocation behaviour were not significantly affected by consumption of ethanol, but species differed in their blood alcohol concentrations after consuming it. Conclusions/Significance The bats we studied display a tolerance for ethanol that could have ramifications for the adaptive radiation of frugivorous and nectarivorous bats by allowing them to use ephemeral food resources over a wide span of time. By sampling across phyllostomid genera, we show that patterns of apparent ethanol tolerance in New World bats are broad, and thus may have been an important early step in the evolution of frugivory and nectarivory in these animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dara N. Orbach
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nina Veselka
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Yvonne Dzal
- Department of Biology, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Louis Lazure
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - M. Brock Fenton
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- * E-mail:
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Sánchez F, Kotler BP, Korine C, Pinshow B. Sugars are complementary resources to ethanol in foods consumed by Egyptian fruit bats. J Exp Biol 2008; 211:1475-81. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.013268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
SUMMARYFood resources are complementary for a forager if their contribution to fitness is higher when consumed together than when consumed independently,e.g. ingesting one may reduce the toxic effects of another. The concentration of potentially toxic ethanol, [EtOH], in fleshy fruit increases during ripening and affects food choices by Egyptian fruit bats, becoming deterrent at high concentrations (⩾1%). However, ethanol toxicity is apparently reduced when ingested along with some sugars; more with fructose than with sucrose or glucose. We predicted (1) that ingested ethanol is eliminated faster by bats eating fructose than by bats eating sucrose or glucose, (2)that the marginal value of fructose-containing food (food+fructose) increases with increasing [EtOH] more than the marginal value of sucrose- or glucose-containing food (food+sucrose, food+glucose), and (3) that by increasing [EtOH] the marginal value of food+sucose is incremented more than that of food+glucose. Ethanol in bat breath declined faster after they ate fructose than after eating sucrose or glucose. When food [EtOH] increased, the marginal value of food+fructose increased relative to food+glucose. However,the marginal value of food+sucrose increased with increasing [EtOH] more than food+fructose or food+glucose. Although fructose enhanced the rate at which ethanol declined in Egyptian fruit bat breath more than the other sugars, the bats treated both fructose and sucrose as complementary to ethanol. This suggests that in the wild, the amount of ethanol-containing fruit consumed or rejected by Egyptian fruit bats may be related to the fruit's own sugar content and composition, and/or the near-by availability of other sucrose- and fructose-containing fruits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Sánchez
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84990 Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
| | - Burt P. Kotler
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84990 Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
| | - Carmi Korine
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84990 Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
| | - Berry Pinshow
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84990 Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW This review aims to acquaint the reader with advances in 2006 in the epidemiology, genetics, detection, pathogenesis and treatment of alcoholic liver disease. RECENT FINDINGS Important discoveries have been made in pathogenesis and mechanism of disease, with great emphasis on the many pathways leading to oxidative stress, and the novel mechanism of endoplasmic reticulum stress that is proving to be important in the pathogenesis of many liver diseases. The reliability of ethyl glucuronide and other biomarkers for the detection of alcohol abuse is being better established. There have been no treatment advances for alcoholic liver disease but, on balance, steroids are still favored for carefully selected patients with alcoholic hepatitis. Many compounds tested in rodents may now be available for consideration for clinical trials. Criteria for patient selection and refusal for liver transplantation are being established but the 6 months abstinence rule still holds. SUMMARY Insights are being made into the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease but safe and effective therapies for both alcoholic hepatitis and alcoholic cirrhosis have yet to be discovered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian Reuben
- Liver Service, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, And Liver Transplant Program, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
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Morris S, Vosloo A. Animals and Environments: Resisting Schisms in Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry. Physiol Biochem Zool 2006; 79:211-23. [PMID: 16555181 DOI: 10.1086/499997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/21/2005] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The articles in this volume are a product of the enthusiasm shown by delegates to meet in a remote corner of southern Africa and to discuss comparative physiology and biochemistry in their wider interpretation and future course. This collection reflects a small but long-standing commitment to fostering the engagement of biological research with African issues and colleagues. Comparative physiology and biochemistry are evolving, but in this we must guard against fractionation of effort and purpose. Increasingly available molecular methods are seductive in encouraging work on model species and in employing these species in place of more appropriate comparative models. Concomitantly, the comparative approach is reaching out beyond the individual organism and organism-organism interactions to establish underlying principles at ecosystem and landscape levels. The integration of molecular methods into comparative studies will require judicious selection and use of such skills if it is to be achieved without abandoning nonmodel species. The physiological and metabolic bases of ecosystem and evolutionary approaches must be underpinned by relevant data, requiring comparative researchers to accommodate colleagues contributing this specialist knowledge. These articles report distinct symposia, prefaced by a plenary paper. While each paper is itself a review of an entire symposium, they all exhibit a common theme, that comparative physiology and biochemistry are about interactions. It is our hope that the Comparative Physiology and Biology in Africa meetings will continue to facilitate special interactions between the people who make this happen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steve Morris
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, United Kingdom.
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