One of the worlds most under looked animals has it own super powers. Bats have the ability to avoid cancer and handle infections which would devastate others. The key to understanding these abilities is found in their genetic make up.
In a recent study conducted by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, analyzing bat genomes and comparing them to other mammals have allowed anticancer and antiviral genes to be found. The hopes of these findings is to in a way translate it into helping humans.
Bats are extraordinary animals. They are known for having a long life spans, strong immune systems, and have low cancer rates. There immune systems are so resilient that they have allowed them to become a vector species as they can tolerate viruses without being effected by them. This has given them a bad reputation in the eyes of society.
In this study 2 types of bat species genomes were sequenced. The Jamaican Fruit Bat and the Mesoamerican Mustache bat. Next comprehensive comparative genomic analysis was conducted comparing these genomes to other bats and mammals. The results were shocking. Noted were specific adaptations in six DNA repair-related proteins and 46 cancer-suppression proteins in bats. In comparing these genomes to other mammals bats were found to have twice as many cancer related genes.
The hopes of this study is to further understand the bats cancer resistant genes linking to immunity and their immune system resilience. The goal is to help prevent cross-species disease jumps from animals to people by using bat immune system findings and to better understand the link between cancer and immune systems and possibly find a way to prevent it.
I find this truly amazing. I personally have always loved bats and felt bad for the bad reputation they get for being vector species. But learning more and looking further into just why the make such good vector species and how they may help humans in the future I hope it will change society view about them.
Links:
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-09-20/bats-dont-get-cancer-and-scientists-are-closer-to-understanding-why
https://www.science.org/content/article/how-bats-have-outsmarted-viruses-including-coronaviruses-65-million-years
This is such an awesome post! I’ve always found bats fascinating, but I never knew their genetics made them so resistant to cancer and infections. It’s wild to think that they have twice as many cancer-related genes as other mammals. This research might also explain how they can handle things like viruses so well without getting sick. I’ve definitely wondered how some people seem to avoid certain illnesses, and maybe bats hold some answers for us.
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