Daily Weird News Report
Bats may owe their unusually long lives and apparent resistance to cancer, in part, to the same genetic changes that help them cope with viruses, according to research reported by Phys.org.
An international team led by researchers at the University of Vermont and Penn State University examined the genomes of eight Myotis species. The group looked for signs of positive selection—genetic changes that became more common as bats adapted to pathogens—and compared the findings with adaptations seen in humans and other primates.
The researchers found a difference in the types of viral threats reflected in the animals’ genomes. Humans show adaptations involving proteins that interact with RNA viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 and influenza, while the bats showed stronger selection involving proteins that respond to DNA viruses such as hepatitis B and herpesviruses. The researchers said this mismatch could contribute to vulnerability when diseases move between species, although the study did not establish that a particular spillover event would occur.
The team also identified unusual patterns in gene copy number, including changes involving protein kinase R, or PKR. This immune-related gene typically appears in a single copy in other mammals examined, but some of the Myotis bats studied had one, two or three copies. The researchers tested cell lines carrying different numbers of PKR copies by exposing them to a poxvirus and to a chemotherapy drug.
In cells from little brown bats—the longest-lived species in the group—the response at high levels of cellular damage differed from that of the other bats. The researchers reported that these cells appeared more likely to eliminate themselves when damage could not be repaired. They proposed that removing severely damaged cells may help limit the development or spread of cancer, but described this as a hypothesis rather than a demonstrated explanation.
To assemble the genomes, the scientists collected small circular tissue samples from bat wings rather than removing organs. The sampling method allowed them to grow cell lines and study the animals without killing them. This was particularly relevant to little brown bats, which are affected by white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungal infection.
The researchers said their findings connect pathogen adaptation, aging and cancer resistance as related evolutionary processes. They emphasized that the work is still too early to directly address human disease, but suggested that bat biology could provide clues for studying several age-related conditions together rather than as separate problems.
