Using comparative transcriptomics, we identified a lipid transporter SLC27A2/FATP2 to be responsible for lack of starvation-induced fatty liver in cavefish. The Hua Bai Lab (Iowa State Uni) found that inhibiting FATP2 in flies reduced fatty liver, showing FATP2's role from flies to fish. (4/5)

The collaborative effort led us to discover that cavefish evolved protection from starvation-induced fatty liver through reduction of fatty acid uptake regulated by FATP2, a mechanism conserved through 400 million years of animal evolution! (5/5) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...