Coronavirus: unlocking the secrets of how bats survive viruses

Scientists have deciphered the genetic blueprints for six of the world’s bats.

Their life codes contain genetic clues to their “exceptional immunity”, which protects them against deadly viruses.

The researchers hope to use the information to decipher the secrets of how bats carry coronaviruses without getting sick.

They say this can provide solutions to help human health during this and future pandemics.

Professor Emma Teeling of University College Dublin said the “exquisite” genome sequences they have deciphered suggest that bats have “unique immune systems.”

And understanding how bats can tolerate viruses without getting sick could help develop new treatments for viruses like Covid-19.

“If we could mimic bats’ immune response to viruses, which allows them to tolerate them, then we could look to nature to find a cure,” he told the BBC.

“It has already evolved, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Now we have the tools to understand the steps we must take; we need to develop the drugs to do it.”

Professor Teeling is the co-founder of the Bat1K project, which aims to decode the genomes of the 1,421 species of live bats.

“These genomes are the tools necessary to identify genetic solutions developed in bats that could ultimately be harnessed to alleviate aging and human disease,” he said.

Covid-19 is believed to have emerged in bats, passing humans through another, as yet unidentified, animal. A number of other diseases, such as Sars, Mers, and Ebola, are believed to have jumped humans in this way.

Ecologists and conservationists have warned that bats should not be chased; When not disturbed in their natural habitats, they pose little risk to human health.

And they are vital to the balance of nature. Many are pollinators, scatter the seeds of the fruit, and others are insectivores, which eat millions of tons of insects per night.

What species of bats were decoded?

Six species of bats: the greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum), the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus), the pale spearhead bat (Phyllostomus discolora), the largest mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis), Kuhl’s pipistrelle (Pipistrellus kuhlii) and the velvety free-tailed bat (Molosser Molosser)

What do the studies reveal?

An international team of researchers used cutting-edge technologies to sequence the bat genome and identify the genes present.

By comparing the plane of the bat with 42 other mammals, they were able to discover where the bats are found inside the tree of life.

Bats appear to be more closely related to a group consisting of carnivores (dogs, cats, and seals, among other species), pangolins, whales, and ungulates (hoofed mammals).

A network of genetic differences identified regions of the genome that have evolved differently in bats, which may explain their unique abilities.

Genetic detective work revealed genes that can contribute to echolocation, which bats use to hunt and navigate in complete darkness.

How could information help combat this and future pandemics?

The work has implications for human health and disease, revealing a host of genetic changes that protect bats from viruses.

The researchers think that knowing the genomes of bats could help explain how flying mammals tolerate coronavirus infections, which may help fight pandemics in the future.

“These changes may contribute to bats’ exceptional immunity and point to their tolerance to coronaviruses,” said Dr. Michael Hiller of the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany.

In many viral infections, it is not the virus itself that leads to death, but the acute inflammatory response elicited by the body’s immune system.

Bats can control this. So while they may be infected, they show no visible signs of disease.

The research is published in the journal Nature.

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