Researchers uncover the surprising link between a fruit-only diet and enhanced antibody response in fruit bats, shedding light on their ability to harbor viruses without falling ill.
BATS’ PROPHETIC IMMUNITY
Bats are unique animals that are able to carry many viruses of various families without developing diseases. This study provides new understanding of the complex bat immune system.
Fruit bats, researchers found, deploy a broader arsenal of antibodies than mice do — but they mount a weaker overall immune response. It hints that that maybe bats do it a different way with infection control, more so using their immune defenses in total to combat infections as opposed by how strong antibodies operate.
Tracing the bat immune system is important, given that bats are natural reservoirs of pandemic viruses. Environmental changes, such as tribulation (a food shortage) can affect the immune response of bats and may lead to spillover events in which the virus jumps from bats to humans. It also helps us to understand how bat immunity works and may help to predict and prevent zoonotic disease emergence in the future.
The secrets of bat immunity may be written in their diet
After conducting the previous studies, the researchers decided to further investigate how diet can impact on antibody responses in fruit bats. To their surprise, bats fed only fruit had higher antibody responses than those on a protein-supplemented diet.
The finding may help illuminate the complex interplay among diet, immunity and the ability of bats to host viruses without succumbing to sickness. On the surface, it seems that fruit only diet might bolster the bats’ ability to produce more and better-affinity antibodies against viral pathogens.
This finding has significant implications. It also hints that the feeding behavior of bats, and maybe other animal reservoirs matter a great deal in what makes them capable of harboring such deadly viruses. Insights into such dietary influences can help scientists investigate how to modulate the immune reactions of bats and other wildlife, thus possibly lowering the risk of spillover events in the years to come.
More research is required to find out if this dietary-regulation of antibody responses also takes place in other bat species, but this first finding suggests a new aspect that may be investigated in the riddle of bat immunity.
Conclusion
These results reveal the alluring diversity of the bat immune system, and that diet determines their antibody immune responses to viral pathogens. By discovering the insights, researchers can broaden their understanding of the environmental conditions that induce spillover events which could guide interventions and prevention of disease outbreaks. As we learn more about the secrets of bat immunity, maybe we can discover ways to boost our defenses against new and emerging hazards.
