Feeding on blood is a challenge for Desmodus rotundus because this dietary source is constituted at ca. 80% by a liquid phase, and the remaining dry-matter phase is overwhelmingly dominated by proteins (~93%) and with carbohydrate traces (only ~1%).[1]
" infrared sensing capacity for the identification of easily accessible blood vessels in prey,[2] renal adaptations to the high protein content in its diet5 (such as a high glomerular filtration rate and effective urea excretion). Furthermore, given the high risk of exposure to blood-borne pathogens, another important trait in the vampire bat is its immune system "
Sequencing of the nuclear DNA genome of Desmodus rotundus has been completed in 2018.[3] Genome analysis showed that the xxx gene, a xxx activator of xxx, has undergone massive nucleotide change, likely contributing to …
- ^ Breidenstein, Charles P. (1982-08-26). "Digestion and Assimilation of Bovine Blood by a Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus)". Journal of Mammalogy. 63 (3): 482–484. doi:10.2307/1380446. ISSN 0022-2372.
- ^ Kishida, Reiji; Goris, Richard C.; Terashima, Shin-Ichi; Dubbeldam, Jacob L. (1984). "A suspected infrared-recipient nucleus in the brainstem of the vampire bat,Desmodus rotundus". Brain Research. 322 (2): 351–355. doi:10.1016/0006-8993(84)90132-x.
- ^ Zepeda Mendoza, M. Lisandra; Xiong, Zijun; Escalera-Zamudio, Marina; Runge, Anne Kathrine; Thézé, Julien; Streicker, Daniel; Frank, Hannah K.; Loza-Rubio, Elizabeth; Liu, Shengmao; Ryder, Oliver A.; Samaniego Castruita, Jose Alfredo; Katzourakis, Aris; Pacheco, George; Taboada, Blanca; Löber, Ulrike; Pybus, Oliver G.; Li, Yang; Rojas-Anaya, Edith; Bohmann, Kristine; Carmona Baez, Aldo; Arias, Carlos F.; Liu, Shiping; Greenwood, Alex D.; Bertelsen, Mads F.; White, Nicole E.; Bunce, Michael; Zhang, Guojie; Sicheritz-Pontén, Thomas; Gilbert, M. P. Thomas (2018-02-19). "Hologenomic adaptations underlying the evolution of sanguivory in the common vampire bat". Nature Ecology & Evolution. doi:10.1038/s41559-018-0476-8. ISSN 2397-334X.