Single-cell and Spatial Transcriptomics Illuminate Bat Immunity and Barrier Tissue Evolution.

ABSTRACT: Bats have adapted to pathogens through diverse mechanisms, including increased resistance-rapid pathogen elimination, and tolerance-limiting tissue damage following infection. In the Egyptian fruit bat (an important model in comparative immunology), several mechanisms conferring disease tolerance were discovered, but mechanisms underpinning resistance remain poorly understood. Previous studies on other species suggested that the elevated basal expression of innate immune genes may lead to increased resistance to infection. Here, we test whether such transcriptional patterns occur in Egyptian fruit bat tissues through single-cell and spatial transcriptomics of gut, lung, and blood cells, comparing gene expression between bat, mouse, and human. Despite numerous recent loss and expansion even

SUBMITTER: Levinger R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11817796 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature