Publications

transcriptional host-pathogen responses of pseudogymnoascus destructans and three species of bats with white-nose syndrome.	understanding how context (e.g., host species, environmental conditions) drives disease susceptibility is an essential goal of disease ecology. we hypothesized that in bat white-nose syndrome (wns), species-specific host-pathogen interactions may partly explain varying disease outcomes among host species. we characterized bat and pathogen transcriptomes in paired samples of lesion-positive and lesion-negative wing tissue from bats infected with pseudogymnoascus destructans in three parallel expe ...	2020	32552222
population connectivity predicts vulnerability to white-nose syndrome in the chilean myotis (myotis chiloensis) - a genomics approach.	despite its peculiar distribution, the biology of the southernmost bat species in the world, the chilean myotis (myotis chiloensis), has garnered little attention so far. the species has a north-south distribution of c. 2800 km, mostly on the eastern side of the andes mountain range. use of extended torpor occurs in the southernmost portion of the range, putting the species at risk of bat white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease responsible for massive population declines in north american bats. he ...	2020	32327452
plasma proteomic profiles differ between european and north american myotid bats colonized by pseudogymnoascus destructans.	emerging fungal diseases have become challenges for wildlife health and conservation. north american hibernating bat species are threatened by the psychrophilic fungus pseudogymnoascus destructans (pd) causing the disease called white-nose syndrome (wns) with unprecedented mortality rates. the fungus is widespread in north america and europe, however, disease is not manifested in european bats. differences in epidemiology and pathology indicate an evolution of resistance or tolerance mechanisms ...	2020	32279365
drivers of longitudinal telomere dynamics in a long-lived bat species, myotis myotis.	age-related telomere shortening is considered a hallmark of the ageing process. however, a recent cross-sectional ageing study of relative telomere length (rtl) in bats failed to detect a relationship between rtl and age in the long-lived genus myotis (m. myotis and m. bechsteinii), suggesting some other factors are responsible for driving telomere dynamics in these species. here, we test if longitudinal rtl data show signatures of age-associated telomere attrition in m. myotis and differentiate ...	2020	32105386
six reference-quality genomes reveal evolution of bat adaptations.	bats possess extraordinary adaptations, including flight, echolocation, extreme longevity and unique immunity. high-quality genomes are crucial for understanding the molecular basis and evolution of these traits. here we incorporated long-read sequencing and state-of-the-art scaffolding protocols1 to generate, to our knowledge, the first reference-quality genomes of six bat species (rhinolophus ferrumequinum, rousettus aegyptiacus, phyllostomus discolor, myotis myotis, pipistrellus kuhlii and mo ...	2020	32699395
phagocyte activity reflects mammalian homeo- and hetero-thermic physiological states.	emergence of both viral zoonoses from bats and diseases that threaten bat populations has highlighted the necessity for greater insights into the functioning of the bat immune system. particularly when considering hibernating temperate bat species, it is important to understand the seasonal dynamics associated with immune response. body temperature is one of the factors that modulates immune functions and defence mechanisms against pathogenic agents in vertebrates. to better understand innate im ...	2020	32631329
the faecal microbiome of building-dwelling insectivorous bats (myotis myotis and rhinolophus hipposideros) also contains antibiotic-resistant bacterial representatives.	the bacteriome of bat faeces and bat guano is still not well known, despite the increasing knowledge of it as a potential source of pathogenic and/or antibiotic-resistant species. in this study, the faecal microbiome composition of two building-dwelling insectivorous bat species (myotis myotis and rhinolophus hipposideros) was analysed using cultivation-based and non-cultivation-based approaches. the cultivation analyses indicate the dominance of gram-positive bacteria, represented by the genera ...	2020	32607823
seroprevalence of toscana virus and sandfly fever sicilian virus in european bat colonies measured using a neutralization test.	toscana phlebovirus (tosv) and sicilian phlebovirus (sfsv) are endemic in the mediterranean area where they are transmitted to humans by infected sandflies. vertebrates of several species have been postulated to act as reservoirs of these viruses, but convincing evidence is still awaited. among them, bats have been suggested, however documented evidence is lacking. here we tested a total of 329 bats belonging to eight species collected from twelve localities in southern spain for the presence of ...	2021	33440618