Table 3.

Potential association of unique bat biological features with a symbiotic relationship with viruses.

Unique biological feature	Impact on metabolism	Impact on infectious agents
True ability to fly	Requiring more energy efficient metabolism	Greater chance of inter-species and long distance transmission
Rapid change of body temperature	Highly efficient sensing and regulation of temperature	Effect on immune system favoring persistence
Long lifespan relative to body size	More efficient mechanism to prevent oxidative damage to DNA	More opportunity for co-evolution and persistency