VITN post no.2- "Bats spread Ebola because they've evolved not to fight viruses"

Having heard a lot about bats as reservoir hosts recently, I decided to read up more about them. I then fell upon a short, interesting new scientist article with the same title as above.

The article suggests that bats "provide a refuge" for some of the most deadly viruses because flying is very energy-demanding.
The article talks about viruses hijacking the cell machinery, as we know they do, to replicate their genetic material, but this leads to the production of very reactive free radicals during exercise, which can damage and fragment DNA.

Normally, if cells detect free DNA, it is interpreted as an emerging viral threat, and the molecule which coordinates response is "STING" (STimulator of INterferon Genes aka. transmembrane protein 173) which coordinates interferon production. However in bats, it was found that one serine residue was deleted, modifying bats' response to viral infections and leading them to tolerate infections other mammals would fight off, thus wild bats are capable of tolerating viruses for a long time at a low level.

The article states rightly that it is paramount that we understand the mechanism bats use to remain unaffected (but infected.)

Photo: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1931312818300416?via%3Dihub
1- The figure shows that STING-dependent IFN activation is dampened in bats, and this is due to an otherwise conserved serine residue being replaced, but reversing this mutation restores "normal" IFN activation and viral inhibition

-Jack Whitehead