Fruit Flies Help to Shed Light on the Evolution of Metabolism
Published:13 Jan.2019 Source:Science Daily
Diet choice of animal species is highly variable. Some are specialists feeding only on one food source, such as a sugar-rich fruit or protein-rich meat. Other species, like humans, are generalists that can feed on different kinds of food sources.
Researchers have discovered that the ability to use sugar as food varies strongly between closely related fruit fly species. They have also identified the genetic basis of this variation. In the future, it will be interesting to explore whether human populations with different dietary histories may respond differently to modern diets rich in sugars.