Ecological and phylogenetic modeling shows that the white-nose syndrome fungus is a generalist pathogen of hibernating bats

0431919 - ÚBO 2015 US eng A - Abstrakt
Martínková, Natália - Banďouchová, H. - Bartonička, T. - Zukal, Jan - Pikula, J.
Ecological and phylogenetic modeling shows that the white-nose syndrome fungus is a generalist pathogen of hibernating bats.
7th Annual White-Nose Syndrome Workshop: Oral Presentation and Poster Abstracts. St. Louis, 2014.
[Annual White-Nose Syndrome Workshop /7./. 08.09.2014-12.09.2014, St. Louis]
Institucionální podpora: RVO:68081766
Klíčová slova: white-nose syndrome * bats
Kód oboru RIV: EG - Zoologie
http://whitenosesyndrome.org/sites/default/files/wns_2014-abstracts-final.pdf

Multiple species of bats emerge from European hibernacula where Pseudogymnoascus [Geomyces] destructans infection was identified previously in numbers relatively stable between years. Using UV fluorescence, we examined 276 bats of 15 species from hibernacula in the Czech Republic over 2012 and 2013 to biopsy their wings for histopathological investigation. Prior to the UV examination, dorsal side of the left wing of each individual was swabbed for P. destructans spore load quantification using qPCR. We found that 11 bat species were positive for the white-nose syndrome (WNS). These included representatives from genera Myotis, Eptesicus, Plecotus, Barbastella and Rhinolophus, and in two species we found WNS lesions that spanned the full thickness of the wing membrane. The prevalence of WNS in hibernation survivors, evidenced by histopathology, ranged from 4% in Rhinolophus hipposideros to 55% in Myotis myotis. It is important to note that WNS affects species from both Chiroptera suborders. Our results challenge views that European bats are resistant to the infection and we therefore tested whether relatedness, ecological or behavioral traits of bats in North America and Europe explain the pattern of infection. Using phylogenetic generalized least square modeling and phylogenetic representation, we found that the infected species are statistically phylogenetically related, although our new data begin to lower the significance of the test, and WNS affects species with diverse ecology. We conclude that P. destructans is a generalist pathogen that can infect any bat species hibernating within its distribution range. The different outcome of WNS between the continents and the reasons for the discrepancy are the key focus of our further research.
Trvalý link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0236475