Discovered a gene error that creates vampires - creatures that only drink blood to live

Blood usually doesn't provide enough nutrients for a real organism to exist like a Dracula vampire, except for one species, thanks to 13 "missing" genes.

The most famous vampire - Count Dracula - is described with the characteristics of a vampire bat; Vampire bats, on the other hand, also possess unique characteristics that only they and the aforementioned legendary character have: just needing to suck blood is enough to live .

Vampire bat - (Photo: Pedro Ferreira do Amaral).

According to The Scientist, other species of bats around the world, including most blood-sucking bats, have a fairly varied diet because blood is not something that can provide all the nutrients needed by a living organism. 

However, research led by Dr Michael Hiller from the LOEWE Center for Biodiversity Genetics (Germany) found that Desmondus rotundus, or vampire bats , lacked functional copies of 13 genes inherent in species other bats.

These genes are either completely "missing" in their bodies, or contain so many mutations that they cannot produce the same functional proteins as in other bats. This shortcoming for "real-life vampires " is again an advantage.

According to Live Science, a particular genetic error causes vampire bats to obtain certain nutrients from their blood in a way that other bats cannot. For example, two of the genes are missing that control the secretion of insulin (a hormone that regulates blood sugar) from the pancreas, making them very little insulin, so they "live well " despite having very little carbohydrate in the blood - the source. produces glucose that other organisms need quite a lot for the body to have energy to function.

Or the deficiency of the REP15 gene makes the iron entering the blood of vampire bats not absorbed much into the body, but excreted easily, so they do not suffer from metal poisoning despite drinking too much blood. The lack of another gene called CTRL helps them to consume more protein in the blood.

The authors add that some of the missing genes involved in digestion and metabolism, while others related to cognitive abilities, vision and physiology, need to be investigated. save more. But apparently, the vampire bat's body has been "designed" to be an energy-consuming factory in a way that is completely different from every living thing on Earth.