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Viral tolerance enabled by a bat-specific genomic tweak

Bats carry viral pathogens that typically do not lead to severe disease in the bats themselves but can be lethal to humans. Adaptations in certain immune genes might contribute to this resistance.
By
  1. Junji Zhu

    1. Junji Zhu is at the Florida Research and Innovation Center, Cleveland Clinic, Port St Lucie, Florida 34987, USA.

  2. Michaela U. Gack

    1. Michaela U. Gack are at the Florida Research and Innovation Center, Cleveland Clinic, Port St Lucie, Florida 34987, USA.

Bats are natural reservoirs for a wide range of viruses that can be lethal to humans, such as Ebola virus, Nipah virus and certain coronaviruses1. Despite carrying these pathogens, bats rarely develop disease — a phenomenon that has intrigued scientists for decades. Writing in Nature, Morales et al.2 provide insights into the genomic adaptations that enable bats to tolerate viral infections while remaining mostly unaffected by the harmful inflammation that the viruses cause in humans. The authors’ findings reveal that evolutionary changes in specific immune-related genes underpin bats’ extraordinary resilience.

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Nature 638, 326-327 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-00081-8

References

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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