Bats have acquired remarkable traits throughout their evolution. They鈥檙e the only mammals that can fly, and they live much longer than other animals their size. But perhaps most impressive is their robust immune system. It protects bats from viruses that wreak havoc in humans, like COVID-19 or Ebola. It also keeps bats relatively cancer-free. How?
According to Laboratory(麻豆传媒社区) scientists, it鈥檚 all in the genes.
Using samples collected in Belize with Nancy Simmons from the American Museum of Natural History, LaboratoryProfessors W. Richard McCombie and Adam Siepel and postdoc Armin Scheben sequenced the genomes of the Jamaican fruit bat and Mesoamerican mustached bat. When they compared these sequences to other mammals, the team found that rapid evolution has streamlined bat genomes to defend against infection and cancer. McCombie explains:
鈥淲e didn’t know immune system genes were so positively selected in bat genomes. Bats have a number of very unusual things about them. They don鈥檛 respond to infections the way we do. In retrospect, it鈥檚 not surprising this difference in the immune system may be involved in both the aging and cancer response.鈥�
The Jamaican fruit bat and Mesoamerican mustached bat belong to the world鈥檚 most ecologically diverse superfamily of mammals. McCombie, Siepel, and Scheben created complete genomes for both bats using new Oxford Nanopore sequencing technology. They then compared these sequences to 15 other bat and mammal genomes, including humans. This revealed an unknown shift in levels of two inflammatory protein-coding genes called interferon-alpha and –omega.
鈥淏ats have dialed down the immune system鈥檚 alarm by shedding genes that produce interferon-alpha,鈥� Scheben explains. 鈥淭his may be responsible for their high viral tolerance. It prevents overactive immune responses that harm healthy tissue鈥攐ne of the reasons infections are so damaging to humans.鈥�
They also found that compared to other mammals, bat genomes contain more changes in cancer-related genes, including six that repair DNA and 46 that suppress tumors.
鈥淥ur work highlights how immunity and cancer response are deeply interconnected,鈥� Scheben says. 鈥淭丑别 same immune genes and proteins play important roles in cancer resistance.鈥�
McCombie, Siepel, and Scheben are now exploring how bats鈥� immune genes are regulated and how they might be expressed in different parts of the body. They hope their work will provide new insights into the links between immunity, aging, and cancer. It may also one day lead to improved treatments.
鈥淭丑别re鈥檚 still a lot of unknowns,鈥� Siepel says. 鈥淯ltimately, we鈥檒l take the work as far as we can and hand off the baton to experts in disease to work toward developing drugs or other therapeutics.鈥�
Written by: Nick Wurm, Communications Specialist | wurm@cshl.edu | 516-367-5940
Funding
National Institutes of Health, Simons Center for Quantitative Biology, 麻豆传媒社区/Northwell Health Affiliation
Citation
Scheben, A., et al., 鈥淟ong-Read Sequencing Reveals Rapid Evolution of Immunity- and Cancer-Related Genes in Bats鈥�, Genome Biology and Evolution, September 20, 2023. DOI:
Core Facilites
鈥淭丑别 Sequencing Technologies and Analysis Shared Resource provides access to an array of high throughput Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies. We offer cutting-edge technology alongside convenient in-house services for a broad range of genetic analysis.鈥� 鈥� Project Manager Sara Goodwin, Ph.D.