Projektnummer

0061573

Zusammenfassung

The immune response of vertebrates is a major control center deciding over survival and death of an organism. First annotations of complete bat genomes uncovered a modified and reduced repertoire of immune- and stress-related genes. These genotypic differences are thought to be connected with a long lifespan, a low risk for developing cancer, and a lack of developing clinical diseases upon virus infections - probably explaining why bats serve as a major reservoir host for human pathogenic viruses. The genotypic differences may be a result of unique features in bat's innate immune respo...