|
According to a new study published in Genome Biology and Evolution by Oxford University Press, rapid evolution in bats may explain the animals' unique ability to host and survive infections as well as avoid cancer.
Not only do bats have the capacity to fly, but they also have long lifespans, low cancer rates, and robust immune systems. Bats are also suspected of aiding in the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Bats' ability to tolerate viral infections could be attributed to unusual characteristics of their innate immune response. These characteristics makebatsan interesting animal to investigate, because they may have implications for human health. For example, by better understanding the mechanisms of the bat immune system that allowbatsto tolerate viral infections, researchers may be better able to preventdiseaseoutbreaks fromanimalsto people. Comparative genomic analyses ofbatsand cancer-susceptiblemammalsmay eventually provide new information on the causes of cancer and the links between cancer and immunity. Studies ofbatsand other organisms complement studies based on mouse models; mice are more amenable thanbatsto experimental manipulation but exhibit fewer characteristics with implications for humandisease. Here researchers using the Oxford Nanopore Technologies long-read platform, and bat samples collected with help from the American Museum of Natural History inBelize, sequenced the genomes of two bat species, the Jamaican fruit bat and the Mesoamerican mustached bat, and carried out a comprehensive comparative genomic analysis with a diverse collection ofbatsand othermammals. The researchers found genetic adaptations in six DNA repair-related proteins and 46 proteins inbatsthat were cancer-related, meaning that researchers have previously found such proteins suppress cancer. Notably, the study found these altered cancer-related genes were enriched more than two-fold in the bat group compared to othermammals. By generating these new bat genomes and comparing them to othermammalswe continue to find extraordinary new adaptations in antiviral and anticancer genes, said the papers lead author, Armin Scheben. These investigations are the first step towards translating research on the unique biology ofbatsinto insights relevant to understanding and treating ageing anddiseases, such as cancer, in humans. (ANI)
|
