Experimental Infection of
            <i>Tadarida brasiliensis</i>
            with
            <i>Pseudogymnoascus destructans</i>
            , the Fungus That Causes White-Nose Syndrome

Verant, Michelle L.; Meteyer, Carol U.; Stading, Benjamin; Blehert, David S.

doi:10.1128/msphere.00250-18

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Lower fungal loads in some of these less-studied species, such as the endangered species Myotis grisescens, may indicate a lower impact 67 . Regardless, sustained hibernation seems to be critical in determining whether a species will be affected by this pathogen, as the non-obligate hibernator Tadarida brasiliensis was not highly susceptible to mortality in an experimental infection study 118 . Impacts of WNS in the more diverse bat communities of the Western US, where P. destructans recently arrived, remain largely unexplored (but see reF.…”

Section: Variability In Host Declines Declines Caused By Wnsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology and impacts of white-nose syndrome on bats

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease in bats and one of the most devastating infectious disease outbreaks in wild mammals to emerge over the past century 1-15. WNS was first detected in 2007 by biologists who discovered an abnormal mortality event at a cave in Albany County, New York (NY), USA, while conducting routine bat population monitoring surveys 16. Bats that were still alive were covered in a white fungus, which was most noticeable on their muzzles, ears and wings, thus leading to the disease being named WNS 17,18. Following this discovery, inspection of nearby hibernation sites (hibernacula) led to similar findings and further examination of photos collected from previous winter surveys revealed that bats at another nearby site had visible signs of infection with the fungus in the winter of 2005-2006. Thus, the earliest evidence of this disease in North America is on 16 February 2006 in Howes Cave, NY 17. Histological examination of dead and dying bats later identified the likely causative agent as Geomyces destructans 19 , a novel fungus that was unknown to science before its discovery in North America 17. Based on DNA sequence data from other Geomyces spp. and related fungi, G. destructans was reclassified as Pseudogymnoascus destructans 16,17,20 in 2013. P. destructans is a multi-host psychrophilic ascomycete 20 in the order Onygenales, which contains many other pathogenic and environmentally resilient fungi. Molecular evidence suggests that P. destructans has evolved with Eurasian bat communities, with which it has coexisted for millenia 21,22 , to become a specialist pathogen that relies primarily on living bat tissue for growth and replication 22-24. The investment in parasitic traits has led to physiological and ecological trade-offs 22-26 , which make P. destructans both reliant on but also well adapted to infecting the epidermal tissue of hibernating bats during the winter 26,27. While bat communities across Eurasia experience greatly reduced WNS disease severity with no evidence of mass mortality 28,29 , naive host communities in North America experienced unprecedented population declines 1-15 on first exposure to this virulent pathogen 26,27. Routine monitoring and retrospective photo documentation of bat populations enabled biologists to estimate the timing of P. destructans' introduction to North America with some certainty, making this disease emergence unique among other wildlife diseases. Early detection enabled the spread of P. destructans across North America to be tracked and the impacts of the pathogen on hosts to be accurately assessed. Building on this information, the first decade of WNS research has led to considerable advances in the understanding of the closely tied interactions between P. destructans and its hosts compared with other emerging wildlife diseases over similar timescales 30,31. In this Review, we describe the origins, distribution, seasonal life history, pathogenesis, and the impacts and persistence of bats with P. destructans across the globe. Finally, we...

show abstract

Section: Variability In Host Declines Declines Caused By Wnsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology and impacts of white-nose syndrome on bats

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Modeling the suitability of Texas karst regions for infection by Pseudogymnoascus destructans in bats

Wolf

Meierhofer

Morrison

et al. 2022

Journal of Mammalogy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans and has led to the deaths of millions of North American bats since it was first documented in New York in 2006. Since the first cases were recorded, WNS has spread rapidly across North America and is now confirmed or suspected in 40 US states and seven Canadian provinces. Often, the presence of P. destructans is detected in a cave or hibernaculum before signs of WNS manifest in the resident bat population, making presence of the fungus a more reliable assessment of potential epidemic spread than expansion of manifested WNS. An analysis of 43 cave internal climates across the state of Texas revealed a pattern of thermal suitability for P. destructans that correlated significantly with landscape (elevation, lithology) and external climate (mean surface temperature and precipitation). We generated a predictive model to assess the potential spread of P. destructans through Texas karst systems based on external features that correlate with suitable internal climates for fungal growth. Applications of this model to external climatic variables from 2019 showed seasonally varying patterns of suitability for fungal growth in select regions of Texas karst systems. Results from these surveys and models showed that internal climates of Texas caves are likely able to sustain the growth of P. destructans and could cause disease and resulting declines in Texas bats, and act as stepping-stones for the fungus, allowing it to travel southward into Mexican and Central American cave systems. The resulting work will inform researchers and natural resource managers of areas of significant concern to monitor for the spread of WNS.

show abstract

Status and trends in United States terrestrial mammal research since 1900

Readyhough,

Butler,

Stephens

et al. 2024

Mammal Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the face of the growing global biodiversity crisis, we must critically examine factors driving patterns in research to identify knowledge gaps, guide future funding and inform conservation policies and actions. In this article, we reviewed the literature on terrestrial mammals in the contiguous United States to evaluate which factors influence the number of publications for over 300 species and to identify trends in publication rates during the past 50 years. We expected larger body mass, broader geographic range, more years since a species was described, and higher relative abundance to correspond with an increase in the number of publications about a species, and that conservation status and taxonomic order would also affect the number of publications. We found that publications focussed on species that were larger, widespread, described longer ago and at a higher relative abundance. There were no clear trends in research due to a species conservation status, and research effort was not consistent among orders over time. We advocate for changes in requirements for professional advancement, shifts in the publication process and focus, and novel allocations of research funding.

show abstract

Experimental Infection of Tadarida brasiliensis with Pseudogymnoascus destructans , the Fungus That Causes White-Nose Syndrome

Cited by 3 publications

References 35 publications

Ecology and impacts of white-nose syndrome on bats

Ecology and impacts of white-nose syndrome on bats

Modeling the suitability of Texas karst regions for infection by Pseudogymnoascus destructans in bats

Status and trends in United States terrestrial mammal research since 1900

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About