Bat genomes reveal how viral adaptation powers extreme longevity

Bats represent a fundamental anomaly in mammalian biology: small body size and high metabolic rate typically predict short lifespans, yet many bat species achieve extreme longevity that defies this relationship. Researchers sequenced near-complete genomes across eight closely related Myotis species—a genus exhibiting some of the widest lifespan variation among mammals—to decode the genetic basis of their aging resistance. Genome-wide screens of positive selection, structural variation analysis, and functional experiments in primary cells identified distinct adaptation patterns: genome-wide overrepresentation of positive selection for DNA-virus-interacting proteins and elevated copy-number variation rates for RNA-virus-interacting proteins. The discovery of multiple ancient segregating trans-species copy-number polymorphisms in EIF2AK2 (PKR), a key immune factor, alongside positive selection in cancer-associated pathways and unique DNA-damage responses in long-lived Myotis lucifugus cells, points to a unified mechanism. These findings suggest that bat longevity and antiviral immunity are functionally linked through pleiotropic adaptations—a discovery with direct implications for developing therapies that harness immune plasticity as a longevity lever.