Bats have diversified to specialize on a remarkable variety of diets. Among these, sugar-rich fruit and nectar diets come with unique challenges, particularly to the maintenance of blood sugar levels and energy homeostasis, with high-sugar intake leading to disease in most mammals. Importantly, frugivory and nectarivory have independently evolved at least two, and 7 times, respectively, among bats, implying independent suites of adaptations to these dietary-related challenges.

A primary cilium is presented as a meso-scale device that senses and translates extracellular information into intracellular biochemical reactions. These input cues manifest in a variety of forms ranging from chemical to mechanical ones. Deregulation of these information transfer leads to human diseases known as ciliopathies. Due to its diffraction-limited dimension and semi-membrane-bound topology, a primary cilium has been a daunting compartment to visualize and manipulate signaling events on site.