Powering endurance: Fuel selection in migratory bats
Mammals that engage in high intensity endurance exercise will deplete their glycogen reserves and then reach a point of sudden fatigue. Migratory birds, however, have the capacity to sustain energetically expensive activities over extended periods via lipid oxydation, almost without any signs of exhaustion. Our aim is to decipher how migratory bats can generate high levels of power needed for a long distance migration. Do they metabolize endogenous fat depots (just like birds), or do they refuel on the way, either in air or at stop-over sites?
Project details
| Duration: | 2019 - 2021 |
| Third-party funded: | yes |
| Involved Department(s): | Dept Evolutionary Ecology, Dept Evolutionary Genetics, |
| Leibniz-IZW Project Leader(s): |
Christian Voigt (Dept Evolutionary Ecology)
|
| Leibniz-IZW Project Team: |
Camila Mazzoni, Maximilian Driller (BeGenDiv/Dept Evolutionary Genetics)
Jörns Fickel (Dept Evolutionary Genetics)
|
| Consortium Partner(s): |
Latvia University of Agriculture, Jelgava
University of Latvia, Riga
TU Munich, Germany
Helmholtz Centre Munich, Germany
MPIO Seewiesen, Germany
|
| Current Funding Organisation: | Leibniz-Association (Leibniz Competitive Fund 2019-2021, K101/2018) |
| Research Foci: | Understanding traits and evolutionary adaptations |
Mammals that engage in high intensity endurance exercise will deplete their glycogen reserves after
which they reach a point of sudden fatigue. Migratory birds, however, have the capacity to sustain
energetically expensive activities over extended periods via lipid oxidation, almost without any signs
of exhaustion. Our aim is to decipher how migratory bats can gen erate high levels of power needed
for a long distance migration. Do they metabolize endogenous fat depots (just likebirds), or do they
refuel on the way, either in air or at stop over sites?
Our model species will be the migratory bat species Pipistrellus nathusii. Once a reference genome
has been assembled and annotated we will compare it with those of non migratory bats, terrestrial
mammals and migratory birds. Genomes for multiple representatives of these groups are currently
generated within the Vertebrate Genome Project (VGP), the Bird10k and the Bat1k projects.
Besides genomic comparisons we are also interested in comparing the gene expression, both at
resting state and at high intensity endurance exercise between migratory bats and migratory birds.
Candidate genes identified to be differentially expressed in the two states via a transcriptome
analysis approach will then be scrutinized using qPCR. Our focus hereby lies on genes and pathways
has been assembled and annotated we will compare it with those of non migratory bats, terrestrial
mammals and migratory birds. Genomes for multiple representatives of these groups are currently
generated within the Vertebrate Genome Project (VGP), the Bird10k and the Bat1k projects.
Besides genomic comparisons we are also interested in comparing the gene expression, both at
resting state and at high intensity endurance exercise between migratory bats and migratory birds.
Candidate genes identified to be differentially expressed in the two states via a transcriptome
analysis approach will then be scrutinized using qPCR. Our focus hereby lies on genes and pathways
involved in the metabolism e.g. lipogenesis or glycogenesis.