Tony Schountz

Pathogenesis and host response to a novel Tacaribe virus isolate in experimentally-infected Jamaican fruit bats

This paper isolates and characterizes a novel Tacaribe virus (TCRV) strain from Jamaican fruit bats, showing it causes nonfatal infection with mild liver disease and limited immune response, offering a better model for studying arenavirus biology than previously used strains.

An ancient retrotransposon provides species-specific tuning of IL-18 inflammatory signaling

The paper identifies an ancient retrotransposon-derived IL18R1-Short isoform that modulates IL-18 signaling across species.

Functional characterization of bat limb regulatory elements

The paper identifies key regulatory elements in bat limb development by comparing bat and mouse genomic datasets and swapping enhancer sequences to observe phenotypic changes.

Low cadmium concentrations alter B and T cell responses in Jamaican fruit bats (Artibeus jamaicensis)

This study shows that low cadmium exposure alters B and T cell gene expression in Jamaican fruit bats, suggesting immune system changes, but not affecting viral replication in kidney cells.

Cloning, expression and characterisation of antigen-specific recombinant bat immunoglobulin from the black flying fox (Pteropus alecto)

The paper generates antigen-specific recombinant bat antibodies from Pteropus alecto to study bat antibody immunity and provides new diagnostic tools.

Cellular and Immune Adaptations at the Maternal-Fetal Interface in Bats

This study uses single-nucleus RNA sequencing and organoids to identify unique placental cell types and immune adaptations in Jamaican fruit bats, revealing species-specific gene programs and attenuated antiviral responses in trophoblasts.

Limited Cell-Autonomous Anticancer Mechanisms in Long-Lived Bats

This study shows that bat fibroblasts require fewer oncogenic hits for malignant transformation compared to other long-lived mammals, suggesting reliance on non-cell autonomous tumor suppression mechanisms.

Back to basics: Immunoglobulin germline reference sequences enable investigations and reveal insights into bat-specific immunity

The paper generates a bat genome and germline immunoglobulin loci to study B cell receptors, finding unique features and differences compared to humans.

Jamaican fruit bats (Artibeus jamaicensis) competence for Ebola virus but not Marburg virus is driven by intrinsic differences in viral entry and IFN-I signaling antagonism.

This study shows Jamaican fruit bats can support EBOV replication and shedding but not MARV, due to differences in viral entry and IFN-I signaling suppression.

Discrimination of Jamaican fruit bat lymphocytes by flow cytometry

The paper identifies cross-reactive monoclonal antibodies for profiling Jamaican fruit bat lymphocytes and generates specific antibodies for CD3γ, CD4, and CD8 to enable flow cytometry analysis of T cells.

Integrative single-cell characterization of frugivory adaptations in the bat kidney and pancreas

This study uses single-cell sequencing to identify cellular and molecular differences in the kidneys and pancreases of insectivorous and frugivorous bats, linking them to diabetes-related mechanisms.