Lab-Grown Bat Organs: A Breakthrough in Pandemic Prediction

01 Jun 2025 GS 3 Science & Technology
    Live Views: Loading...

📌 Context & Importance:

  • Bats are critical for ecosystems (pollination, seed dispersal, insect control) but are also reservoirs for zoonotic viruses.

  • Many pandemics and viral outbreaks (e.g., SARS-CoV-2, MERS, Nipah) have origins in bat-hosted viruses.

  • Studying bats is challenging due to biosafety, species diversity, and limited research tools.

🧪 Scientific Breakthrough:

🔬 Study in Science Journal:

  • Developed lab-grown bat organoids (miniature organs in the lab).

  • Organoids created from 5 insectivorous bat species (Asia & Europe), including:

    • Trachea, lungs, intestines, kidneys

    • Features included mucus-producing goblet cells and alveoli

  • Findings:

    • MERS-CoV replicated easily in some bat respiratory organoids.

    • SARS-CoV-2 could not infect bat cells without human TMPRSS2 gene.

    • Discovery of 2 new viruses from wild bat feces: a mammalian orthoreovirus and a paramyxovirus.

🔬 Study in PLoS Biology:

  • Created immortalised bat cell lines from Seba’s short-tailed bat (C. perspicillata).

  • Tissues: kidney, liver, spleen, brain.

  • Supported replication of:

    • MERS-CoV

    • Vesicular stomatitis virus

    • Andes orthohantavirus

  • Observed strong innate immune responses to synthetic or real viruses.

🌍 Implications for India:

  • India has 120+ bat species but lacks comprehensive virological data.

  • Antibodies to Ebola and Marburg found in bats and humans (Northeast).

  • Multiple Nipah outbreaks in Kerala linked to fruit bats.

  • Challenges: biosafety, legal barriers, limited infrastructure.

🛡 India’s Response:

  • Launched an inter-ministerial initiative (April 2025) to assess zoonotic disease risk.

  • Organoids and bat cell lines can:

    • Enhance virus surveillance

    • Support safe, scalable virus-host research

    • Improve pandemic preparedness

Conclusion:

Lab-grown bat organoids and cell lines are revolutionary tools that allow scientists to safely study zoonotic viruses at their origin, offering a vital edge in predicting and preventing future pandemics, especially for countries like India with high biodiversity and zoonotic risk.

Q. With reference to recent advances in virology research, consider the following statements:

  1. Lab-grown bat organoids have been developed from multiple bat species to mimic real bat organs for virus study.

  2. These organoids and cell lines have shown the ability to naturally support replication of SARS-CoV-2 in bat tissues.

  3. India has launched an inter-ministerial initiative to study the risks of zoonotic spillovers from bats.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A) Only 1
B) Only 2
C) 1 and 3 only
D) 1, 2 and 3

✅ Correct Answer: C) 1 and 3 only

Explanation:

  • Statement 1 – Correct: Organoids were created from five insectivorous bat species and mimicked real tissues like lungs, trachea, etc.

  • Statement 2 – Incorrect: SARS-CoV-2 did not infect bat tissues naturally unless human TMPRSS2 gene was added.

  • Statement 3 – Correct: India has indeed launched an inter-ministerial initiative in April to assess zoonotic risks.



← Back to list