Distribution and Environmental Persistence of the Causative Agent of White-Nose Syndrome, Geomyces destructans, in Bat Hibernacula of the Eastern United States

Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Müller, Laura; Russell, Robin E.; O’Connor, Michael D.; Lindner, Daniel L.; Blehert, David S.

doi:10.1128/aem.02939-12

Cited by 147 publications

(167 citation statements)

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“…The pathogen that causes WNS, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, is a cold growing fungus that infects bats' skin during their hibernation period [19][20][21], and can persist in the environment for long periods of time in the absence of bats [22,23]. The resulting infections lead to the disruption of homeostatic processes and ultimately mortality [24,25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host persistence or extinction from emerging infectious disease: insights from white-nose syndrome in endemic and invading regions

et al. 2016

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Predicting species' fates following the introduction of a novel pathogen is a significant and growing problem in conservation. Comparing disease dynamics between introduced and endemic regions can offer insight into which naive hosts will persist or go extinct, with disease acting as a filter on host communities. We examined four hypothesized mechanisms for host–pathogen persistence by comparing host infection patterns and environmental reservoirs for Pseudogymnoascus destructans (the causative agent of white-nose syndrome) in Asia, an endemic region, and North America, where the pathogen has recently invaded. Although colony sizes of bats and hibernacula temperatures were very similar, both infection prevalence and fungal loads were much lower on bats and in the environment in Asia than North America. These results indicate that transmission intensity and pathogen growth are lower in Asia, likely due to higher host resistance to pathogen growth in this endemic region, and not due to host tolerance, lower transmission due to smaller populations, or lower environmentally driven pathogen growth rate. Disease filtering also appears to be favouring initially resistant species in North America. More broadly, determining the mechanisms allowing species persistence in endemic regions can help identify species at greater risk of extinction in introduced regions, and determine the consequences for disease dynamics and host–pathogen coevolution.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host persistence or extinction from emerging infectious disease: insights from white-nose syndrome in endemic and invading regions

et al. 2016

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“…Lorch et al (2013) found that the probability of detecting Pd in a Pd-positive hibernaculum was 56 % for each sample using real-time PCR, compared to 14% using culture-dependent methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…DNA from various organisms is able to persist long term in the environment, as shown by its recovery from paleontological remains, but the limit of persistence of non-viable Pd DNA in bat hibernacula is unknown. Viable Pd is known to persist in hibernacula soil in the absence of bats (Lorch et al, 2013), and it may be able to propagate as a saprobe (Raudabaugh and Miller, 2013). Reynolds et al (2015) successfully grew Pd on a variety of sterilized sediments from caves in the laboratory.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have produced low yields of viable Pd from Pd-positive hibernacula, with only 13 to 33 % positive samples using culture-dependent methods (Lorch et al, 2013;Martinkova et al, 2010;Zhang et al, 2014), as compared to 44 to 91 % with culture-independent methods (Zhang et al, 2014;Langwig et al, 2015). Lorch et al (2013) found that the probability of detecting Pd in a Pd-positive hibernaculum was 56 % for each sample using real-time PCR, compared to 14% using culture-dependent methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Detecting viable Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Ascomycota: Pseudeurotiaceae) from walls

Vanderwolf¹,

Malloch²,

McAlpine³

2016

JCKS

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Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) causes the fungal disease white-nose syndrome (WNS), which has led to high mortality in some hibernating bat species in eastern North America. The ability to detect viable Pd in hibernacula is important for understanding the role the environment plays as a reservoir for infectious Pd. Previous studies have generally used the high-sugar medium Sabouraud-dextrose (SAB) and have had low yields of viable Pd from environmental samples of Pd-positive hibernacula. While cultureindependent methods (i.e., molecular genetics) have previously shown much better success in detecting Pd, these methods cannot determine viability. In 2012 and 2015, we swabbed walls in four hibernacula with WNS-positive bats in New Brunswick, Canada, and cultured the samples using dextrose-peptone-yeast extract agar (DPYA), SAB, and Malt extract (MEA) media. Samples cultured on DPYA produced viable Pd 43.7 to 50.0 % more frequently than SAB, with a maximum overall return for DPYA among sites of 62.5 % Pd-positive samples over both years. During the initial outbreak of WNS in our study region, Pd-positive swabs were produced from 40.0 to 83.3 % of samples on DPYA, whereas SAB produced a maximum of 40.0 %. At one site we detected Pd from 83.3% of swabs cultured on DPYA and 0 % on SAB. MEA produced no viable Pd. Our figures for Pd detection are as high as or higher than previously published culture-independent methods, while also confirming the viability of the Pd present. We found that the yield of viable Pd from hibernacula walls decreased from 2012 to 2015 as the hibernating bat population decreased due to WNS mortality, but patterns varied amongst hibernacula, and overall, were not statistically different. It is possible that environmental growth of Pd contributes to its persistence within hibernacula. We suggest that future studies on the environmental persistence of viable Pd discontinue the use of high-sugar media that lack inhibitory fungal growth ingredients, such as SAB and MEA, as they favor fast-growing fungal species that overgrow and mask slowergrowing fungi such as Pd.

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“…Bat-inhabited caves can be reservoirs of human pathogenic fungi such as Histoplasma capsulatum, causative agent of histoplasmosis (Cano & Hajjeh, 2001), which is frequently isolated from warm caves in tropical areas. In addition, the sudden and catastrophic appearance of the White Nose Syndrome (WNS), caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans, in cave-dwelling North American bats in 2006 has stimulated interest in cave fungi in the last few years (Blebert et al, 2009;Lorch et al, 2013). A huge bat colony of more than 2,000 individuals spends the winter in Magura Cave.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity and biocide susceptibility of fungal assemblages dwelling in the Art Gallery of Magura Cave, Bulgaria

Mitova¹,

Iliev²,

Nováková³

et al. 2017

IJS

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Abstract:Magura Cave, north-western Bulgaria, possesses valuable rock-art paintings made with bat guano and dated from the period between the Eneolithic and Bronze Ages. Since 2008, the Art Gallery is closed to the general public in order to protect the paintings from vandalism, microclimatic changes caused by visitors and artificial illumination, and the consequent growth of fungi and phototrophs. Nevertheless, some tourist visits are allowed under the supervision of cave managers. This study provides the first scientific report on cultivable fungal assemblages dwelling different substrata in the Art Gallery. A total of 78 strains, belonging to 37 OTUs (Ascomycota 81%, Zygomycota 14%, Basidiomycota 5%), were isolated in the study. This fungal diversity was clearly dominated by Penicillium (50% of strains) and Aspergillus (13%). The most relevant visible fungal colonies were detected in sediments rich in bat guano, where, besides Penicillium, other guanophilic fungi such as Mucor, Mortierella, Trichosporon and Trichoderma were dominant. Conversely, scarce fungi were detected on rock surface of painted walls. Based on the biocide susceptibility assay, octylisothiazolinone (OIT) and benzalkonium chloride (BAC) were effective inhibiting the in vitro growth of dominant fungal species in Magura Cave, when applied at concentrations ranged from 100 to 1,000 mg/L. These data provide a valuable knowledge about Magura fungi, and exemplify a type of preliminary test that may be conducted before planning any biocide treatment. However, considering the irreversible effects of biocides on the ecological balance in caves, and the low fungal contamination in painted walls of Magura Cave, there is no reason to use conventional biocides in this cave. Further studies, monitoring microbial communities and microclimatic parameters, should be conducted to improve the knowledge on microbial ecology in Magura Cave and possible human impacts, as well as to allow the early detection of potential microbial outbreaks.fungi, cultivable microorganisms, rock-art caves, bat guano, biocides Received 14 September 2016; Revised 3 February 2017; Accepted 3 February 2017 Mitova M.M., Iliev M., Nováková A., Gorbushina A.A., Groudeva V.I. and Martin-Sanchez P.M., 2017. Diversity and biocide susceptibility of fungal assemblages dwelling in the Art Gallery of

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Distribution and Environmental Persistence of the Causative Agent of White-Nose Syndrome, Geomyces destructans, in Bat Hibernacula of the Eastern United States

Cited by 147 publications

References 25 publications

Host persistence or extinction from emerging infectious disease: insights from white-nose syndrome in endemic and invading regions

Host persistence or extinction from emerging infectious disease: insights from white-nose syndrome in endemic and invading regions

Detecting viable Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Ascomycota: Pseudeurotiaceae) from walls

Diversity and biocide susceptibility of fungal assemblages dwelling in the Art Gallery of Magura Cave, Bulgaria

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