Characterization of Microsatellites in Pseudogymnoascus destructans for White-nose Syndrome Genetic Analysis (original) (raw)
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Bat white-nose disease fungus diversity in time and space
Biodiversity data jurnal, 2024
White-nose disease (WND), caused by the psychrophilic fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, represents one of the greatest threats for North American hibernating bats. Research on molecular data has significantly advanced our knowledge of various aspects of the disease, yet more studies are needed regarding patterns of P. destructans genetic diversity distribution. In the present study, we investigate three sites within the native range of the fungus in detail: two natural hibernacula (karst caves) in Bulgaria, southeastern Europe and one artificial hibernaculum (disused cellar) in Germany, northern Europe, where we conducted intensive surveys between 2014 and 2019. Using 18 microsatellite and two mating type markers, we describe how P. destructans genetic diversity is distributed between and within sites, the latter including differentiation across years and seasons of sampling; across sampling locations within the site; and between bats and hibernaculum walls. We found significant genetic differentiation between hibernacula, but we could not detect any significant differentiation within hibernacula, based on the variables examined. This indicates that most of the pathogen's movement occurs within sites. Genotypic richness of P. destructans varied between sites within the same order of magnitude, being approximately two times higher in the natural caves (Bulgaria) compared to the disused cellar (Germany). Within all sites, the pathogen's genotypic richness was higher in samples collected from hibernaculum walls than in samples collected from bats, ‡ §,| |, §, ¶ © Zhelyazkova V et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. which corresponds with the hypothesis that hibernacula walls represent the environmental reservoir of the fungus. Multiple pathogen genotypes were commonly isolated from a single bat (i.e. from the same swab sample) in all study sites, which might be important to consider when studying disease progression.
Conservation Biology, 2011
is the fungus Geomyces destructans, which Infects the skin and wing membranes. Over 1 million bats in six species in eastern North America have died from WNS since 2006, and as a result several species of bats may become endangered or extinct. Information is lacking on the pathogenesis of G. destructans and WNS, WNS transmission and maintenance, individual and site factors that contribute to the probability of an outbreak of WNS, and spatial dynamics of WNS spread in North America. We considered how descriptive and ana lytical epidemiology could be used to fill these information gaps, including a four-step (modified) outbreak investigation, application of a set of criteria (Hill's) for assessing causation, compartment models of disease dynamics, and spatial modeling. We cataloged and critiqued adaptive-management options that have been either previously proposed for WNS or were helpfUl in addressing other emerging diseases of wild animals. These Include an ongoing program of prospective surveillance of bats and hibernacula for WNS, treatment of individual bats, increasing population resistance to WNS (through vaccines, Immunomodulators, or other methods), Improving probability of survival from starvation and dehydration associated with WNS, modi fying hibernacula environments to eliminate G. destructans, culling Individuals or populations, controlling anthropogenic spread of WNS, conserving genetic diversity of bats, and educating the public about bats and bat conservation issues associated with WN5.
White-Nose Syndrome Fungus: A Generalist Pathogen of Hibernating Bats
PLoS ONE, 2014
Host traits and phylogeny can determine infection risk by driving pathogen transmission and its ability to infect new hosts. Predicting such risks is critical when designing disease mitigation strategies, and especially as regards wildlife, where intensive management is often advocated or prevented by economic and/or practical reasons. We investigated Pseudogymnoascus [Geomyces] destructans infection, the cause of white-nose syndrome (WNS), in relation to chiropteran ecology, behaviour and phylogenetics. While this fungus has caused devastating declines in North American bat populations, there have been no apparent population changes attributable to the disease in Europe. We screened 276 bats of 15 species from hibernacula in the Czech Republic over 2012 and 2013, and provided histopathological evidence for 11 European species positive for WNS. With the exception of Myotis myotis, the other ten species are all new reports for WNS in Europe. Of these, M. emarginatus, Eptesicus nilssonii, Rhinolophus hipposideros, Barbastella barbastellus and Plecotus auritus are new to the list of P. destructans-infected bat species. While the infected species are all statistically phylogenetically related, WNS affects bats from two suborders. These are ecologically diverse and adopt a wide range of hibernating strategies. Occurrence of WNS in distantly related bat species with diverse ecology suggests that the pathogen may be a generalist and that all bats hibernating within the distribution range of P. destructans may be at risk of infection.
White-nose disease (WND), caused by the psychrophilic fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, represents one of the greatest threats for North-American hibernating bats. Research on molecular data has significantly advanced our knowledge on various aspects of the disease, yet more studies are needed regarding patterns of P. destructans genetic diversity distribution. In the present study, we investigate three sites within the native range of the fungus in detail: two natural hibernacula (karst caves) in Bulgaria, South-Eastern Europe, and one artificial hibernaculum (disused cellar) in Germany, Northern Europe, that we intensively surveyed between 2014 and 2019. Using 18 microsatellite and two mating type markers, we describe how P. destructans genetic diversity is distributed between and within sites, the latter including differentiation across years and seasons of sampling; across sampling locations within the site; and between bats and hibernaculum walls. We found significant geneti...
2017
Since the 2006 detection of White-nose Syndrome (WNS) in New York,~6.7 million bats have died in North America. WNS is caused by the ascomycete fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans. Evidence points to a single introduction in North America from Europe. In Europe, pathogen populations are genetically diverse and sexually reproducing. Here, bats survive even when infected. While in North America mortality is high. Based on multi-locus sequence studies, the North American fungal population is clonal without evidence of recombination. I compared SNPs with whole-genome Illumina sequencing of 37 isolates from 2008 to 2015 which represented current range of epidemic in Canada and US. I asked two questions: First, does the pathogen population represent one clonal expansion? Second, in the course of this expansion, is recombination occurring? Genomic diversity consistent with mitotic recombination was detected among isolates from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Our observation shows that the pathogen is evolving.
Molecular Ecology, 2021
Emerging infectious diseases pose a major threat to human, animal, and plant health. The risk of species‐extinctions increases when pathogens can survive in the absence of the host. Environmental reservoirs can facilitate this. However, identifying such reservoirs and modes of infection is often highly challenging. In this study, we investigated the presence and nature of an environmental reservoir for the ascomycete fungusPseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of White‐Nose disease. Using 18 microsatellite markers, we determined the genotypic differentiation between 1497P.destructansisolates collected from nine closely situated underground sites where bats hibernate (i.e., hibernacula) in Northeastern Germany. This approach was unique in that it ensured that every isolate and resulting multilocus genotype was not only present, but also viable and therefore theoretically capable of infecting a bat. The distinct distribution of multilocus genotypes across hibernacula demon...