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

Ekaterina Osipova; Meng‐Ching Ko; Konstantin M. Petricek; Simon Yung Wa Sin; Thomas F. Brown; Sylke Winkler; Martin Pippel; Julia Jarrells; Susanne Weiche; Mai‐Britt Mosbech; Fanny Taborsak-Lines; Chuan Wang; Orlando Contreras‐López; Remi‐André Olsen; Philip Ewels; Daniel Mendez-Aranda; Andrea H. Gaede; Keren R. Sadanandan; Gabriel Weijie Low; Amanda Almeida Monte; Ninon Ballerstädt; Nicolás M. Adreani; Lucía Mentesana; Auguste M. P. von Bayern; Alejandro Rico‐Guevara; Scott V. Edwards; Douglas L. Altshuler; William A. Buttemer; Carolina Frankl‐Vilches; Heiner Kuhl

doi:10.1126/science.adt1522

Evolutionary BiologyScienceFeb 26, 2026

Peer-reviewed journal article

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

Ekaterina Osipova iD, Meng‐Ching Ko iD, Konstantin M. Petricek iD, Simon Yung Wa Sin iD, Thomas F. Brown iD, Sylke Winkler iD, Martin Pippel iD, Julia Jarrells, Susanne Weiche, Mai‐Britt Mosbech iD, Fanny Taborsak-Lines iD, Chuan Wang iD, Orlando Contreras‐López iD, Remi‐André Olsen iD, Philip Ewels iD, Daniel Mendez-Aranda iD, Andrea H. Gaede iD, Keren R. Sadanandan iD, Gabriel Weijie Low iD, Amanda Almeida Monte iD, Ninon Ballerstädt, Nicolás M. Adreani iD, Lucía Mentesana iD, Auguste M. P. von Bayern iD, Alejandro Rico‐Guevara iD, , Timothy B. Sackton iD

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, 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. Summary Figure: Our comparative screens across four independent sugar-feeding bird groups identified both repeated and lineage-specific targets of selection O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=65 SRC="FIGDIR/small/610474v2_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (24K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@148f5c8org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1005dbaorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1097facorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@9d365c_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

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