# Biology and infection of bats with novel bat influenza viruses

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA · 2021 · $419,278

## Abstract

Project Summary
Influenza pandemics are caused by emergent novel influenza A viruses (IAVs) that transmit efficiently within
human populations lacking preexisting immunity against the specific virus. After the significantly divergent
genome sequences of novel HL17NL10 and HL18NL11 bat influenza A-like viruses (BIALVs) were identified,
concerns have been raised that they may pose significant spillover threats to humans because antibodies to
IAVs and influenza B viruses have no cross-reactivity to novel BIALVs. To understand these novel viruses,
reverse genetics was established for both viruses. It was demonstrated that internal genes of these viruses are
functional through generation of chimeric bat viruses that contain six internal genes from the bat virus and the
ORF of both HA and NA from canonical IAVs. It was also shown that reassortant viruses that carry the classical
IAV M gene by replacing the bat M gene in the genetic background of chimeric bat virus can be rescued. Bats
have been shown to be seropositive to IAVs, frequently to the H9N2 viruses. Furthermore, bat cells from different
species have been demonstrated to support human, swine and avian IAV replication. The bats could have been
exposed to both BIALVs and IAVs, and reassortment might occur to generate novel viruses that can infect other
species including humans. Recent studies showed that rescued BIALVs can infect canine and human cells. All
facts suggest a zoonotic potential of novel bat viruses. However, little is known about the receptors of these
novel viruses, infection and immunological responses in their natural hosts (bats), or how they are maintained
and transmitted among their natural hosts. Whether bats can be infected by IAVs, and if they are infected, what
role in the ecology of IAVs do these infections play? Significant knowledge is needed to understand these novel
viruses and their potential threats to other species including humans. Jamaican fruit bats (Artibeus jamaicensis)
were shown to be experimentally susceptible to the rescued wild type HL18NL11 virus. Therefore, it is
hypothesized that Jamaican fruit bats can be used as a model organism for understanding novel BIALVs and
their potential threats to other species including humans. This proposal includes three specific aims: 1) To
determine BIALV infection kinetics and tropisms in bats, as well as identify cellular receptors; 2) To determine
reassortment potential and mechanisms between BIALVs and classical IAVs; 3) To determine which bat adaptive
immune responses are critical to controlling BIALV infection. The results from this proposal will provide novel
insights into the biology and virology of novel BIALVs, reveal the association of identified viral sequences with
bats, identify roles that bats may play in virus ecology, and address concerns regarding their potential threats to
other species including humans, which are important for the both influenza and bat immunity research
communities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10320280
- **Project number:** 7R01AI134768-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Wenjun Ma
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $419,278
- **Award type:** 7
- **Project period:** 2018-01-10 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10320280

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10320280, Biology and infection of bats with novel bat influenza viruses (7R01AI134768-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10320280. Licensed CC0.

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