articleNatureJan 29, 2025HYBRID OA

Bat genomes illuminate adaptations to viral tolerance and disease resistance

AEAriadna E. MoralesYDYue DongTBTom BrownKBKaushal BaidD‐Dimitrios ‐ Georgios Kontopoulos

Goethe University Frankfurt · Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt/M · +27 more institutions

PubMed
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Abstract

Zoonoses are infectious diseases transmitted from animals to humans. Bats have been suggested to harbour more zoonotic viruses than any other mammalian order1. Infections in bats are largely asymptomatic2,3, indicating limited tissue-damaging inflammation and immunopathology. To investigate the genomic basis of disease resistance, the Bat1K project generated reference-quality genomes of ten bat species, including potential viral reservoirs. Here we describe a systematic analysis covering 115 mammalian genomes that revealed that signatures of selection in immune genes are more prevalent in bats than in other mammalian orders. We found an excess of immune gene adaptations in the ancestral chiropteran branch and…

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Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Genome
  • Biology
  • Resistance (ecology)
  • Disease
  • Adaptation (eye)
  • Virology
  • Plant disease resistance
  • Evolutionary biology
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Zero hunger
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