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Tissue Collection of Bats for -Omics Analyses and Primary Cell Culture
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Progressive pseudogenization: vitamin C synthesis and its loss in bats
Jie Cui1, Yi-Hsuan Pan, Yijian Zhang
1Institute of Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Institutes for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China.
Molecular Biology and Evolution
|November 2, 2010
Summary
Bats can synthesize vitamin C (Vc), challenging a 50-year belief. This study found no gene loss in some bat species, indicating retained, albeit low, Vc synthesis capabilities.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Evolutionary Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- For 50 years, bats were thought to lack vitamin C (Vc) synthesis due to absent liver L-gulonolactone oxidase (GULO) activity.
- Unlike humans and guinea pigs with pseudogenized GULO genes, the genetic basis for GULO loss in bats remained unconfirmed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether bats have lost the ability to synthesize vitamin C (Vc).
- To determine the genetic mechanisms, specifically pseudogenization, underlying GULO function in bats.
- To explore the evolutionary implications of GULO gene function in bats.
Main Methods:
- Molecular cloning of GULO genes from frugivorous and insectivorous bats.
- Western blotting using bat-specific anti-GULO polyclonal antibodies to assess GULO protein expression.
- GULO activity assays to measure vitamin C synthesis capabilities.
Main Results:
- No GULO gene pseudogenization was found in the studied bat species (Rousettus leschenaultii and Hipposideros armiger).
- Normal GULO protein expression was detected in these bats.
- GULO activity assays revealed retained, low-level Vc synthesis in these species, contrasting with previous assumptions.
Conclusions:
- The ability to synthesize vitamin C (Vc) has not been completely lost in all bat species.
- The evolution of bat GULO genes provides a valuable model for studying genetic loss-of-function processes.
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