A study on bat genomes, involving Texas Tech University, discovered genetic adaptations that help bats resist viral infections, including ” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]” tabindex=”0″ role=”link”>COVID-19. Researchers found that a bat gene, ISG15, can reduce SARS-CoV-2 production by up to 90%, while the human version showed no effect.
Five years after the COVID-19 outbreak, scientists worldwide continue to study its long-term effects and explore strategies to mitigate future pandemics. Now, an international team of researchers may have uncovered a crucial piece of the puzzle—with a laboratory at Texas Tech University playing a key role.
The Ray Laboratory, led by Professor and Associate Chair David Ray of the Department of Biological Sciences, contributed to a study on bat genomes published in Nature. Their research identified specific genetic components in a bat species that exhibit greater immune system adaptations compared to other animals.
The study found that a particular gene in some bats can reduce SARS-CoV-2 production by up to 90%, a discovery that could pave the way for new medical approaches to combating viral diseases.
“Bats have an amazing ability to resist some of the worst effects of viral infection that make us so vulnerable to certain diseases,” Ray said. “While we get very sick, the bats barely blink an eye when exposed to the same pathogens.”
Ray said his laboratory aided in the annotation of the genome assemblies in the bats. Genome annotation is how scientists characterize all component parts of the genome – the genes, regulatory sequences and non-coding and coding regions. The Texas Tech lab identified the transposable element (TE) regions of the assemblies, where bits of DNA can create new copies of themselves and introduce variations within the genome.
The Role of Transposable Elements in Genetic Diversity
Ray said bats have a unique TE repertoire among mammals, presenting a potentially powerful way to generate new genetic pathways to deal with pathogens like the coronavirus.
“If every individual of a species was genetically identical, they would all have the same risk associated with infection – if one dies, they all die,” Ray said. “TEs are a great way for organisms to generate genetic diversity in the species, allowing some individuals to survive better in the face of environmental pressures like viral diseases.”
This study is part of a larger international project called Bat1K, which is attempting to sequence and assemble the genomes of every living bat species, numbering around 1,500, according to Ray. It was led by the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum in Frankfurt, Germany.
Michael Hiller, a professor of comparative genomics at the Goethe University and a member of the Senckenberg Institute is one of the main investigators in the study. He and Ray are both members of the executive board for the Bat1K consortium, and their relationship provided the perfect opportunity for Ray’s lab to collaborate with the international scientific community.
The lab studies genomes and genome evolution with an emphasis on TEs. Their past studies have included genome research on bats and other mammals, crocodiles, and various insects. The lab has worked with entities in the past such as the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the state of Texas, and the Texas Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
ISG15 Gene and Its Potential Medical Implications
Researchers in this recent study paid particular attention to the ISG15 gene, which is associated with a severe course of COVID-19 in humans. Bats are known to carry numerous viruses, including those transmissible to humans, but do not show any symptoms of disease when infected.
The ISG15 gene from the bats, the study showed, is able to reduce production of the SARS CoV-2 virus by 80-90%. By contrast, the ISG15 gene from a human genome showed no antiviral effect in this study.
“Thus, the ISG15 gene is likely one of several factors that contribute to viral disease resistance in bats,” Hiller said. “These promising results can be used as a basis for further experimental studies, which are necessary to decipher the unique adaptations of the bats’ immune system.”
Reference: “Bat genomes illuminate adaptations to viral tolerance and disease resistance” by Ariadna E. Morales, Yue Dong, Thomas Brown, Kaushal Baid, Dimitrios – Georgios Kontopoulos, Victoria Gonzalez, Zixia Huang, Alexis-Walid Ahmed, Arkadeb Bhuinya, Leon Hilgers, Sylke Winkler, Graham Hughes, Xiaomeng Li, Ping Lu, Yixin Yang, Bogdan M. Kirilenko, Paolo Devanna, Tanya M. Lama, Yomiran Nissan, Martin Pippel, Liliana M. Dávalos, Sonja C. Vernes, Sebastien J. Puechmaille, Stephen J. Rossiter, Yossi Yovel, Joseph B. Prescott, Andreas Kurth, David A. Ray, Burton K. Lim, Eugene Myers, Emma C. Teeling, Arinjay Banerjee, Aaron T. Irving and Michael Hiller, 29 January 2025, Nature.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08471-0
