In this study, we demonstrate that a serine residue in IRF3 is positively selected for in multiple bat species. IRF3 is a central regulator of innate antiviral responses in mammals.

Previous functional studies in bats have shown that IRF3 is capable for inducing antiviral signaling after poly(I:C) stimulation and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) treatment in big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) kidney cells (Banerjee et al., 2019).

Mar 27, 2020 · Our study provides genetic and functional evidence for enhanced IRF3-mediated antiviral responses in bats and adds support to speculations that bats have positively selected for multiple adaptations in their antiviral immune responses.

Feb 13, 2019 · We observed that bat IRF3 responded to poly (I:C) by nuclear translocation and post-translational modifications, hallmarks of IRF3 activation. Suppression of IRF3 by small-interfering RNA (siRNA) demonstrated that IRF3 was critical for poly (I:C) and MERS-CoV induced induction of IFNβ in bat cells.

Feb 13, 2019 · Suppression of IRF3 by small-interfering RNA (siRNA) demonstrated that IRF3 was critical for poly(I:C) and MERS-CoV induced induction of IFNβ in bat cells. Our study demonstrates that innate antiviral signaling in E. fuscus bat cells is resistant to MERS-CoV-mediated subversion.

Indeed, human and bat IRF3-D185 conferred enhanced antiviral protection in human and bat cells, respectively, relative to IRF3-L185, suggesting that the activity of S185 is dependent on a charge that is similar to a phosphorylated serine residue (Figures 3A–3C).

Mar 1, 2020 · In this study, we demonstrate that a serine residue in IRF3 was positively selected for in multiple bat species. IRF3 is a central regulator of innate antiviral responses in mammals.

Mar 27, 2020 · In this study, we provide genetic and functional evidence that multiple bat IRF3 sequences have positively selected for a serine residue that confers enhanced antiviral protection in both bat and human cells.

Dec 11, 2020 · Positive Selection of Bat IRF7 and Antiviral Responses. IRF3 and IRF7 are critical transcription factors in driving the expression of IFNs (Randall and Goodbourn, 2008). Sequence analysis of putative IRF3 sequences reveals evolutionary differences among bats when compared to other mammals.

Phosphorylation of IRF3, efficacy of TBK1 and IKKε inhibitor in bat cells, details on computational analysis and validation of IRF3 KO THF cells, Related to Figures 1 and 3, and STAR METHODS.