Expanded utility belt for tackling bat viruses

Abstract

<p>Bats harbor a large and diverse array of viruses, including relatives of the viruses that caused human outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) (<em><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adx9000#core-collateral-R1">1</a></em>), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet the bats carrying these viruses show minimal signs of disease. This puzzling coexistence has made bats a focus for studying viral spillover—when a virus is transmitted to another species—and host pathogenesis. However, most bat viruses have not been isolated and propagated in laboratories, owing to the lack of biologically relevant experimental models that mimic native bat cells. On page 756 of this issue, Kim <em>et al.</em> (<em><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adx9000#core-collateral-R2">2</a></em>) report the establishment of bat organoids—laboratory-grown bat tissue models—derived from five bat species that support the growth of several different bat viruses. This should improve the ability to isolate bat viruses, test antivirals, and undertake surveillance for trans-species viral spillovers.</p>