Convergent and lineage-specific genomic changes shape adaptations in sugar-consuming birds

Osipova, Ekaterina; Ko, Meng-Ching; Petricek, Konstantin M.; Sin, Simon Yung Wa; Brown, Thomas; Winkler, Sylke; Pippel, Martin; Jarrells, Julia; Weiche, Susanne; Mosbech, Mai-Britt; Taborsak-Lines, Fanny; Wang, Chuan; Contreras-Lopez, Orlando; Olsen, Remi-Andre; Ewels, Philip; Mendez-Aranda, Daniel; Gaede, Andrea H.; Sadanandan, Keren; Low, Gabriel Weijie; Monte, Amanda; Ballerstädt, Ninon; Adreani, Nicolas M.; Mentesana, Lucia; von Bayern, Auguste; Rico-Guevara, Alejandro; Edwards, Scott V.; Frankl-Vilches, Carolina; Kuhl, Heiner; Bakker, Antje; Gahr, Manfred; Altshuler, Douglas L.; Buttemer, William A.; Schupp, Michael; Baldwin, Maude W.; Hiller, Michael; Sackton, Timothy B.

Convergent and lineage-specific genomic changes shape adaptations in sugar-consuming birds

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Item Type:	Article
Title:	Convergent and lineage-specific genomic changes shape adaptations in sugar-consuming birds
Creators Name:	Osipova, Ekaterina, Ko, Meng-Ching, Petricek, Konstantin M., Sin, Simon Yung Wa, Brown, Thomas, Winkler, Sylke, Pippel, Martin, Jarrells, Julia, Weiche, Susanne, Mosbech, Mai-Britt, Taborsak-Lines, Fanny, Wang, Chuan, Contreras-Lopez, Orlando, Olsen, Remi-Andre, Ewels, Philip, Mendez-Aranda, Daniel, Gaede, Andrea H., Sadanandan, Keren, Low, Gabriel Weijie, Monte, Amanda, Ballerstädt, Ninon, Adreani, Nicolas M., Mentesana, Lucia, von Bayern, Auguste, Rico-Guevara, Alejandro, Edwards, Scott V., Frankl-Vilches, Carolina, Kuhl, Heiner, Bakker, Antje, Gahr, Manfred, Altshuler, Douglas L., Buttemer, William A., Schupp, Michael, Baldwin, Maude W., Hiller, Michael and Sackton, Timothy B.
Abstract:	High-sugar diets cause human metabolic diseases, yet several bird lineages convergently adapted to feeding on sugar-rich nectar or fruits. We investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms in hummingbirds, parrots, honeyeaters, and sunbirds by generating nine new genomes and 90 tissue-specific transcriptomes. Comparative screens revealed an excess of repeated selection in both protein-coding and regulatory sequences in sugar-feeding birds, suggesting reuse of genetic elements. Sequence or expression changes in sugar-feeders affect genes involved in blood pressure regulation and lipid, amino acid, and carbohydrate metabolism, with experiments showing functional changes in honeyeater hexokinase 3. MLXIPL, a key regulator of sugar and lipid homeostasis, showed convergent sequence and regulatory changes across all sugar-feeding clades; experiments revealed enhanced sugar-induced transcriptional activity of hummingbird MLXIPL, highlighting its adaptive role in high-sugar diets.
Keywords:	Animals, Birds
Source:	Science
ISSN:	0036-8075
Publisher:	American Association for the Advancement of Science
Volume:	391
Number:	6788
Page Range:	eadt1522
Date:	26 February 2026
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adt1522
PubMed:	View item in PubMed
Related to:	URL URL Type https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA623276 External Dataset https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA622897 External Dataset https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA819251 External Dataset https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA1112892 External Dataset https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA1112893 External Dataset https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA1031337 External Dataset https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA1031644 External Dataset https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA1032078 External Dataset https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA1032113 External Dataset https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA1051659 External Dataset https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA1051684 External Dataset https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.17403725 External Dataset https://genome.senckenberg.de/download/TOGA/ External Dataset https://github.com/maggieMCKO/nectargenomics Software

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