Nature: Bat genomes reveal how they carry deadly viruses for 65 million years!

27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Although the SARS-CoV-2 virus has infected more than 14 million people, bats have been infected with similar viruses without any known symptoms.Now, the latest genome sequencing of six species across the bat family tree reveals how they have been able to beat the virus over 65 million years. Laurel Yohe, a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University who, said the findings were "a good starting point for understanding the bat's super immune system" and he was not involved in the work. With more than 1,400 species of bats, they are the second largest species on Earth.they live on every continent except Antarctica, ranging in size from 2 grams to more than 1,000 grams.they fly, they use echolocation, and some live to be 41 -- it's been a long time for animals of their size.known, they also carry many different kinds of viruses, including coronaviruses, but have no adverse effects.to discover their secrets, an international consortium launched the Bat1k project in 2017, an acronym for bat 1000, to sequence the genomes of all bat species.the union recently reported in the journal Nature that sequencing of six of the genomes has now been completed.picture source: Jon Epstein, a disease ecologist at The Brock and Sherri Fenton EcoHealth Alliance who was not involved in the work, said the genomes were more comprehensive and accurate than previously measured bat genomes." allowed researchers to compare with other animals, including humans." the researchers did just that, comparing the newly sequenced genomes with those of 42 other mammals, from manatees to humans.they found that bats were not close relatives of tree , flying lemurs, or even mice, but rather mice, but rather formed their own populations early on, possibly having a common ancestor with mammals that eventually evolved into horses, pangolins, whales and dogs. Further analysisshowed that bats had at least 10 genes used by other mammals to enhance the inflammatory response to infection.they also have additional copies and modifications to antiviral genes, which may explain their high tolerance to disease.end, their genomes are littered with DNA fragments from past viral infections that are included in the replication of viral genomes."These non-bats leave a medical record ... A diary of previous infections. " the team reported that the journal revealed that bats may have been infected with more viruses over time than all other mammals, and are even thought to be infected with viruses that only attack birds. "The results suggest that bats are more effective at surviving viral infections than other mammals," said Sharlene Santana, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, . the analysis could also address the evolutionary origins of bats' echolocation, which helps them locate insect prey by making sounds. some researchers believe that echolocation evolved late in the history of bat evolution and may have evolved twice. , however, the team reported that the five bats that performed echolocation had the same version of several genes involved in hearing, suggesting that they may have evolved from the ancestors of bats. Over the next year, Bat1K researchers plan to sort 27 other genomes -- one bat for each family. Emma Teeling, a zoologist at the University of Dublin and co-founder of the project, says they are now looking for money to do the rest. however, the first six genomes will continue to have an impact, said Amy Russell, an evolutionary biologist at Grand Canyon State University. "I think this paper will be very influential in the next few years, " . " () References: Genomic basis of bat s. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2486-3How hasos outsmarted viruses-including coronaviruses-for 65 million years.