Buzzed but never drunk: Research shows Oriental hornets defy alcohol’s effects
Tel Aviv University team believes surprise findings could be used to develop new models for studying alcoholism
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
When it comes to holding your drink, there appears to be no creature as good as an Oriental hornet, which can consume huge amounts of alcohol without getting wasted or throwing up.
That’s the finding of a new study by Tel Aviv University’s Zoology School and Steinhardt Museum of Natural History.
The research, published in Proceedings of the US National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), concluded that this species of hornet is the only known animal in nature capable of consuming alcohol chronically and in high concentrations with almost no negative effects on its health or lifespan.
The study was conducted under postdoctoral fellow Dr. Sofia Bouchebti from the laboratory of Prof. Eran Levin of Tel Aviv University’s School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History.
Alcohol is commonly produced in nature through the breakdown of sugars by yeasts and bacteria. It is primarily found in ripe fruits and nectar. While alcohol contains nearly twice the amount of energy as sugar, it is toxic to most animals, including humans, especially when consumed chronically.
Animals known to drink alcohol include fruit flies, which show signs of alcohol poisoning even at relatively low concentrations, and tree shrews -— mammals native to East Asia that feed on ripe, alcohol-rich fruits. Tree shrews show symptoms such as fatty liver after consuming low concentrations of alcohol continuously for several days.
The research team tested the Oriental hornet’s ability to consume alcohol and break it down. “The hornets naturally store yeasts in their digestive system, which provides them with a unique environment that allows the yeast to develop and reproduce, creating new strains,” Bouchebti explained. “One explanation is that hornets transfer yeasts to fruits, which indirectly contributes to the production of wine.
“In our study, we labeled the alcohol consumed by the hornets with a heavy carbon isotope. As the alcohol is metabolized, it breaks down into carbon dioxide, which is exhaled. By measuring the amount of labeled carbon dioxide emitted, we could estimate the speed at which the alcohol was broken down. The findings were surprising: We were amazed at the rapid rate at which the hornets metabolized the alcohol.”
During the next stage, the researchers sought to determine whether the hornet ever becomes drunk, but here, too, they were surprised. Even after an 80 percent alcohol diet, there was no noticeable effect on the hornets’ behavior.
In the final phase of the study, the team tested whether alcohol had any impact on the hornets’ lifespan and health. They found no difference between the lifespan of hornets who consumed only alcohol for their entire lives (three months) and those who drank sugar water.
Levin said, “To the best of our knowledge, Oriental hornets are the only animal in nature adapted to consuming alcohol as a metabolic fuel. They show no signs of intoxication or illness, even after chronically consuming huge amounts of alcohol, and they eliminate it from their bodies very quickly.”
He cited an analysis of the Oriental hornet’s genome conducted by Tel Aviv University’s Prof. Dorothee Huchon, which revealed that the hornet possesses several copies of the gene responsible for producing the enzyme that breaks down alcohol.
“This genetic adaptation may be related to their incredible ability to handle alcohol,” Levin said.
“We propose that the ancient relationship between hornets and yeast led to the development of this adaptation. Furthermore, while alcohol-related research is highly advanced, with 5.3 % 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.”
