Picture this: You’re at a college party having a great night with your friends, and you’re going drink for drink with a tiny, rat-like animal, and he’s keeping up. Well, that thought may not seem so far fetched when you meet the Malaysian pen-tailed tree shrew. The pen-tailed tree shrew, Ptilocercus lowii, can consume the equivalent of nine beers a night in alcoholic nectar several nights a week. Talk about a species of booze shrews!
The pen-tailed tree shrew feeds on the nectar of the bertram palm. In the mutualistic relationship, the plant is able to pollinate, and the shrew gets to get drunk a few nights a week. Scientist Frank Wiens of Germany was observing the Malaysian tree shrews when he caught a whiff of a familiar odor. "The palms smelled like a brewery," he said. Wiens and his colleagues further studied the palm trees for years after and discovered that the nectar in the flowers of the bertram palm contain 3.8% alcohol--which is very close to the alcohol content of several well-known beers today. Some other species were feeding on the nectar, but the pen-tailed tree shrew was guzzling on it like an unlimited beer tap, for an average of 138 minutes per night. What a party animal!
Wiens and his colleagues were not able to fully understand how the tree shrew metabolizes alcohol, but they suspect it is in a much more efficient way than humans, especially considering their miniscule size. We suspect that P. lowii co-evolved with the bertram palm, and since the tree is its main food source, the mutualistic relationship between the palm and the shrew caused the animal to develop an alcohol tolerance. Wien’s study suggest that this party animal may be a better model organism than lab rats when studying alcohol effects on humans… Or maybe a better buddy to bring out to the bars with you.
Posted by Josha Cruz (1)
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2008/07/now-thats-party-animal
This is a really interesting topic, and I really enjoyed the context you put it in as it made it all the more fun to read. I am curious if they discussed any specific things they would like to study using these organisms, as it does seem like they have drastically higher tolerances when compared to their size. I am unsure how this could possibly influence a study on the effects of alcohol in these organisms. I am also curious as to if this could be a source of study for impairment effects?
ReplyDeleteAlexandra McGuire
This is defiantly a great find and paper. I think that 3.8% is closer to wine coolers or light beer, though. Still, the tree shrew is able to drink a fair amount. It's always interesting to see examples of mutualistic relationships and co-evolution based on that.
ReplyDelete-Rachel Klett
This is a very interesting post. And I think the study of the mutualistic relationship between pen-tailed tree shrew and bertram palm can provide us with more knowledges of co-evolution. We may also study the physiological traits of pen-tailed tree shrew to see how it tolerate the effects of alcohol. Also I wonder how bertram palm can produce alcohol?
ReplyDeletePosted by Muchen Liu
This study provides us with a world of information. From dependency and alcohol tolerance to co-evolution. I haven't read into how the bertram palm can produce alcohol, but I'm definitely curious myself.
DeletePosted by Josha Cruz
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ReplyDeleteThat's totally savage. I wonder after a night of euphoric symbiosis with the tree, when they wake up, does their head hurt? I can't imagine that it does, because that would deter them from that food source if they have the time awareness to relate the morning after to the night before. I can't always remember. Also if their head doesn't hurt, I guess nine beers for them is like a glass of kombucha for me.
ReplyDeletePosted by "Takoda Nordoff"
I can't imagine they wake up with a headache as they're probably so adapted to the effects. Love the enthusiasm Takoda. Be safe out there!
DeletePosted by Josha Cruz
One thing I am curious about is the state of their liver..this may give a better indication of how well they are able to metabolize the alcohol they are consuming. Has any other experiments been performed to look at their liver function?
ReplyDeletePosted by "Lauren Hiller"
This is pretty interesting I would never have guessed that a small rodent would be able to drink that much especially from a plant. If the tree shrew gets drunk off the nectar of the plant is it possible for humans or other animals to get drunk off that nectar?Is the tree shrew one of the only animals that uses that nectar as a supply of food?
ReplyDeletePosted by "Edwin Montecinos"
Actually the nectar can get humans drunk as well. There are reports of seven other mammals that use the nectar as a food supply; however, none of these mammals consume nearly as much as the tree shrew.
DeletePosted by Josha Cruz