Genetic secrets of oriental hornet may lead to new alcohol detox methods

Jerusalem [Israel], October 28 (ANI/TPS): Israeli researchers have identified the oriental hornet as the first animal capable of consuming vast amounts of alcohol without experiencing the harmful effects that most species, including humans, typically do.
Studying how they metabolize alcohol could reveal new insights into treating alcohol-use disorders and lead to new medical applications for detoxifying alcohol.
The Tel Aviv University researchers, led by Sofia Bouchebti from the lab of Professor Eran Levin, found that these hornets have a unique digestive system that naturally houses yeasts, allowing them to break down alcohol efficiently. The team's findings were recently published in the peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
"By labeling alcohol with a heavy carbon isotope, we could track its breakdown, and we were astonished at the rapid rate at which these hornets metabolized the alcohol," Bouchebti explained.
This ability appears to be rooted in the hornet's genetic makeup. Analyses revealed multiple copies of a gene responsible for producing an alcohol-metabolizing enzyme.
In practice, this means that while humans and most animals suffer alcohol poisoning after continued alcohol consumption, Oriental hornets showed no behavioral shifts or negative health effects, even when fed alcohol as their sole nutritional source at concentrations as high as 80 percent.
Furthermore, the study found no difference in lifespan or health between hornets subsisting on alcohol versus those that consumed sugar water, underscoring their resilience to alcohol's negative effects.
"To the best of our knowledge, Oriental hornets are the only animal in nature adapted to consuming alcohol as a metabolic fuel," Levin said.
Alcohol is naturally produced when sugars ferment in the presence of yeasts and bacteria, commonly found in ripe fruits and nectar. While it can be an energy-dense substance, it is toxic to most animals, including humans, especially with frequent consumption.
Some species, such as fruit flies, experience alcohol poisoning at even low concentrations. Similarly, treeshrews, mammals found in East Asia, exhibit symptoms of alcoholism, such as fatty liver, after consuming low doses of alcohol continuously.
In humans, the chronic consumption of alcohol is associated with behavioral, cognitive, and physical health problems, and a range of diseases.
The researchers hope that these findings can open up new methods of addressing alcohol metabolism, addiction, and disease in humans, using the Oriental hornet as a model.
"While alcohol-related research is highly advanced, with 5.3 per cent of deaths in the world linked to alcohol consumption, we believe that, following our research, Oriental hornets could potentially be used to develop new models for studying alcoholism and the metabolism of alcohol," Levin said.(ANI/TPS)