---
title: "Convergent and lineage-specific genomic changes shape adaptations in sugar-consuming birds"
url: "https://phil.ewels.co.uk/publications/2026/osipova-science"
site: "phil.ewels.co.uk"
author: "Phil Ewels"
section: "Publications"
journal: "Science"
published: "2026-02-26"
doi: "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adt1522"
authors: "Ekaterina Osipova, Meng-Ching Ko, Konstantin M. Petricek, Simon Yung Wa Sin, Thomas Brown, Sylke Winkler, Martin Pippel, Julia Jarrells, Susanne Weiche, Mai-Britt Mosbech, Fanny Taborsak-Lines, Chuan Wang, Orlando Contreras-Lopez, Remi-Andre Olsen, Philip Ewels, Daniel Mendez-Aranda, Andrea H. Gaede, Keren Sadanandan, Gabriel Weijie Low, Amanda Monte, Ninon Ballerstädt, Nicolas M. Adreani, Lucia Mentesana, Auguste von Bayern, Alejandro Rico-Guevara, Scott V. Edwards, Carolina Frankl-Vilches, Heiner Kuhl, Antje Bakker, Manfred Gahr, Douglas L. Altshuler, William A. Buttemer, Michael Schupp, Maude W. Baldwin, Michael Hiller, Timothy B. Sackton"
---

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

> **Preprint:** an earlier version of this work was posted on bioRxiv as [Convergent and lineage-specific genomic changes contribute to adaptations in sugar-consuming birds](https://phil.ewels.co.uk/publications/2024/osipova-biorxiv).

## 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.

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From the personal website of Phil Ewels, a software developer and bioinformatician in Stockholm, Sweden: https://phil.ewels.co.uk/
The whole site as Markdown: https://phil.ewels.co.uk/llms.txt