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

Abstract Bats are natural reservoirs of viruses that cause severe disease in livestock and humans. Recent high-profile spillover events have directed significant attention towards the interplay between zoonotic viruses and antiviral immunity inherent to bats. Studies have highlighted that bats could harbour some deadly viruses without exhibiting outward symptoms. Various hypotheses have been proposed on how bats coexist with viruses; this includes dampened inflammation and altered innate immunity. However, there is limited literature on the humoral immune response in bats due to the scarcity of bat-specific reagents. To address this knowledge gap, we employed recombinant antibody design techniques to generate antigen-specific recombinant bat antibodies. This strategy involves combining the paratope of well-characterised antiviral antibodies with the IgG1 constant region of the black flying fox ( Pteropus alecto ). Characterisation of recombinant bat antibodies have revealed that they display canonical features of mammalian IgG. Additionally, recombinant bat antibodies display a binding and neutralising profile akin to human antibody counterparts. This approach provides much needed diagnostic tools and novel reagents to accelerate research into bat antibody immunity.