Bat pluripotent stem cells as a novel experimental system

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Bats are perhaps the most fascinating but least understood mammalian order. It is clear that, although bats are a critically needed new model organism, limited access to animal and cell models has hindered their study. We recently generated the first induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from a bat (R. ferrumequinum) and discovered that bat iPSCs had a unique transcriptomic profile enriched in metabolomic and immune pathways ketogenic metabolism and a unique inflammasome response. We plan to generate additional to test if our novel protocol can be used for any bat species and that essential metabolic genes uniquely expressed only in bat cells, including HMGC2, can be knocked out using CRISPR/Cas9. We will also evaluate if the inflammatory response is altered in myeloid cells derived from bat iPSCs. Bat stem cell lines and differentiated progeny will help address bat physiology’s most tantalizing questions, including immunity.