Bats carry dangerous viruses without getting sick. This may be why
Researchers have discovered that vesper bats possess two sets of antibody-producing genes, a unique trait among mammals. This evolutionary adaptation may explain how these bats carry dangerous viruses without succumbing to severe illness.
Why it matters
Understanding bat immunity provides critical insights into zoonotic disease transmission and could inform future medical research on human immune responses.
Scientists have long been intrigued by a question surrounding bats: how can these flying mammals carry viruses capable of causing severe disease while rarely becoming seriously ill themselves?
Researchers at Tulane University, working with collaborators at Stanford University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may now have identified part of the answer.
A study published in Science Advances found that the world's largest family of bats carries two distinct copies of the genes involved in producing antibodies. These specialized proteins help the immune system identify and fight infections. Every other known mammal has only one such set of genes.
The finding gives scientists a new way to think about how immune systems evolved and how different animals respond to disease.
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