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Molecular and Phylogenetic Characterization of Cytokine Genes from Seba's Short-Tailed Bat (Carollia perspicillata)

Bats (order Chiroptera) represent nearly one fourth of the approximately 5,000 known species of mammals, yet many aspects of their biology are poorly understood. Bats of certain species are well known reservoirs of rabies virus but within the past few years bats also have been identified as reservoirs or potential reservoirs of several other important human and livestock pathogens. In some instances, these viruses may cause persistent infections without recognized pathology in the bat host. Even though these are medically important viruses, little is known as to how bat immune systems engage viruses or how these viruses may evade a sterilizing host immune response. We have recently initiated research on Seba’s short-tailed fruit bat (Carollia perspicillata), which may be a reservoir for a newly discovered coronavirus. We cloned and characterized cDNAs of four cytokine genes; tumor necrosis factor, interleukin10, interleukin-23a, and granulocyte macrophage stimulating factor. Our sequence analysis shows these genes are highly conserved with regard to orthologous sequences and they provide some value for resolving phylogenetic relationships between mammals. This work represents a first step in developing an infection and immunology model for a New World coronavirus in bats.