Bats Don't Get Cancer, and Scientists Are Closer to Understanding Why

 

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

The Genetics Behind Bat Wings

    An article in the Washington Post from March 28, 2016, outlines the genetic origins of bat wings, specifically looking into the evolutionary history of these unique mammalian features. Researchers, led by Nadav Ahituv, Nicola Illing, and Katie Pollard, utilized genetic tools to study the embryonic development of bat wings, examining the genes and genetic switches responsible for wing development. These genetic switches, known as enhancers, regulate the timing of gene expression in the body. 

    The team sequenced the genome of Natal long-fingered bats, analyzed bat embryos at specific stages, and successfully identified thousands of wing development genes and genetic switches. This data highlighted major differences in activity between forelimb and hindlimbs during development. Additionally, the study compared bats to other mammals, revealing substantial differences in gene expression, limb elongation, webbing, and symmetry. These findings may allow furthers studies to be aimed at researching human malformations.

    Personally, I find this research to be intriguing due to my affection for bats. The article discusses how the genes were compared to those of other mammals, but I wonder about their comparison to birds. Both bats and birds possess wings that that have evolved convergently, suggesting potential similarities in their genomes. Regarding the application to human malformations, I find it remarkable that such fascinating research could also contribute to aiding people. It's important to remember that we are all mammals, and research like this holds significant value.

Vampire Bats: A Unique Genome and Microbiome

Vampire bats, a blood sucking animal lives deep in the forests of Mexico, Central and South America. Blood is a very hard substance to live on because it is mostly made of protein with very few vitamins, and is riddled with viruses. Organisms that can live on only blood are intriguing to the scientific community especially mammals that can live on it. A bioinformatics researcher, M. Lisandra Zepeda Medonza traveled to vampire bat caves and collected their fecal matter to better understand their genome and microbiome. After collecting samples the researcher compared the genome and microbiome of other species: a fruit eating bat, one that eats insects and one that eats lizards, mice and other small creatures. It was found that vampire bats have differing patterns in their genomes that showcase the power of natural selection and how the bat's unique diet affects their immune system and metabolism.

Surprisingly, the vampire bat's genome was not riddled with pieces of viral DNA that would usually insert itself into the DNA of most organisms. Interestingly genes that fight off viruses were found which suggests that vampire bats have adapted to fight off the onslaught of pathogens. The vampire bat's microbiome revealed that bacteria in their gut are focused on metabolic tasks like breaking down the protein and producing vitamins that vampire bats lack otherwise. The study of the vampire bat has given the scientific community a unique look into how creatures with unusual diets function. My hope is that the study of creatures with strange diets will possibly help humans who suffer from gastrointestinal problems.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/22/science/vampire-bats-blood.html
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/c/common-vampire-bat/

Bat 1K Project

One of the main focuses, the mystery of how bats teach other bats how to whistle or make any of their standard sounds. Young bats use these sounds later on during courtship, mating, when they retrieve food, and defense. So far, only 50 bat species have been studied and all that was found so far is that the adult male bats teach the young bats how to speak just as children learn to speak from their parents. One gene, FOXP2, was identified to be linked to speech and language in bats because it is the same gene that has a role in how humans speak and learn sounds/language.

Some animals can communicate by singing or calling. Most people think of birds right away, however, four bat species also make vocal sounds. Scientists are interested in how bats are able to teach this melodies or sounds to their young. In efforts to uncover this mystery, the project called Bat 1K is now underway as of November 4. Not only are they studying the ability of bats to sing but they are also investigating how they are able to fly int he dark (echolocation), how their immune systems are so strong, and how their lifespans are considerably long. The oldest bat known to live was 39 years old which is equivalent to over a hundred years in a human due to their size. Bats are the longest-lived mammals for their size. In order to find out all this information, scientists are going to try and sequence the genomes of more than 1,000 bat species. 

After the genome is sequenced for these animals I would think that it would be fairly easy to identify the genes that allow them to communicate considering the one gene is that of a human. The study of bats was a wise choice when it comes to animals that use communication because they are relatively small in comparison to other communicating mammals like elephants and whales. Hopefully the discover of the gene in bats leads to the genes in these other mammals as well.

Source: 

http://www.nature.com/news/geneticists-hope-to-unlock-secrets-of-bats-complex-sounds-1.20997

(Other sources are linked in the text)