| inoculation of bats with european geomyces destructans supports the novel pathogen hypothesis for the origin of white-nose syndrome. | white-nose syndrome (wns) is an emerging disease of hibernating bats associated with cutaneous infection by the fungus geomyces destructans (gd), and responsible for devastating declines of bat populations in eastern north america. affected bats appear emaciated and one hypothesis is that they spend too much time out of torpor during hibernation, depleting vital fat reserves required to survive the winter. the fungus has also been found at low levels on bats throughout europe but without mass mo ... | 2012 | 22493237 |
| the panzootic white-nose syndrome: an environmentally constrained disease? | white-nose syndrome (wns) is an emerging disease of hibernating bats probably caused by a pathogenic fungus, geomyces destructans. the fungus has dispersed rapidly in the northeastern united states and canada and is presently a serious risk to hibernating bats of the mid-southern united states. our objectives were to investigate how the environmental factors of temperature and resources impact the physiology of bats and apply this to explore possible effects of the fungus g. destructans on bats. ... | 2012 | 22044513 |
| experimental infection of bats with geomyces destructans causes white-nose syndrome. | white-nose syndrome (wns) has caused recent catastrophic declines among multiple species of bats in eastern north america. the disease's name derives from a visually apparent white growth of the newly discovered fungus geomyces destructans on the skin (including the muzzle) of hibernating bats. colonization of skin by this fungus is associated with characteristic cutaneous lesions that are the only consistent pathological finding related to wns. however, the role of g. destructans in wns remains ... | 2011 | 22031324 |
| evaporative water loss is a plausible explanation for mortality of bats from white-nose syndrome. | white-nose syndrome (wns) has caused alarming declines of north american bat populations in the 5 years since its discovery. affected bats appear to starve during hibernation, possibly because of disruption of normal cycles of torpor and arousal. the importance of hydration state and evaporative water loss (ewl) for influencing the duration of torpor bouts in hibernating mammals recently led to "the dehydration hypothesis," that cutaneous infection of the wing membranes of bats with the fungus g ... | 2011 | 21742778 |
| changes in body condition of hibernating bats support the thrifty female hypothesis and predict consequences for populations with white-nose syndrome. | white-nose syndrome (wns) is a new disease of bats that has devastated populations in eastern north america. infection with the fungus, geomyces destructans, is thought to increase the time bats spend out of torpor during hibernation, leading to starvation. little is known about hibernation in healthy, free-ranging bats and more data are needed to help predict consequences of wns. trade-offs presumably exist between the energetic benefits and physiological/ecological costs of torpor, leading to ... | 2011 | 21731647 |
| recovery of little brown bats (myotis lucifugus) from natural infection with geomyces destructans, white-nose syndrome. | geomyces destructans produces the white fungal growth on the muzzle and the tacky white discoloration on wings and ears that characterize white-nose syndrome (wns) in cave-hibernating bats. to test the hypothesis that postemergent wns-infected bats recover from infection with g. destructans, 30 little brown bats (myotis lucifugus) were collected in may 2009 from a wns-affected hibernation site in new jersey. all bats were confirmed to be infected with g. destructans using a noninvasive fungal ta ... | 2011 | 21719826 |
| rapid real-time pcr assay for culture and tissue identification of geomyces destructans: the etiologic agent of bat geomycosis (white nose syndrome). | geomyces destructans is the etiologic agent of bat geomycosis, commonly referred to as white nose syndrome (wns). this infection has caused severe morbidity and mortality in little brown bats (myotis lucifugus) and has also spread to other bat species with significant decline in the populations. currently, g. destructans infection is identified by culture, its-pcr, and histopathology. we hypothesized that a real-time pcr assay would considerably improve detection of g. destructans in bats. the 1 ... | 2011 | 21706286 |
| morphological and molecular characterizations of psychrophilic fungus geomyces destructans from new york bats with white nose syndrome (wns). | massive die-offs of little brown bats (myotis lucifugus) have been occurring since 2006 in hibernation sites around albany, new york, and this problem has spread to other states in the northeastern united states. white cottony fungal growth is seen on the snouts of affected animals, a prominent sign of white nose syndrome (wns). a previous report described the involvement of the fungus geomyces destructans in wns, but an identical fungus was recently isolated in france from a bat that was eviden ... | 2010 | 20520731 |
| histopathology confirms white-nose syndrome in bats in europe. | white-nose syndrome, associated with the fungal skin infection geomycosis, caused regional population collapse in bats in north america. our results, based on histopathology, show the presence of white-nose syndrome in europe. dermatohistopathology on two bats (myotis myotis) found dead in march 2010 with geomycosis in the czech republic had characteristics resembling geomyces destructans infection in bats confirmed with white-nose syndrome in us hibernacula. in addition, a live m. myotis, biops ... | 2012 | 22247393 |
| increasing incidence of geomyces destructans fungus in bats from the czech republic and slovakia. | white-nose syndrome is a disease of hibernating insectivorous bats associated with the fungus geomyces destructans. it first appeared in north america in 2006, where over a million bats died since then. in europe, g. destructans was first identified in france in 2009. its distribution, infection dynamics, and effects on hibernating bats in europe are largely unknown. | 2010 | 21079781 |
| changes in the pseudogymnoascus destructans transcriptome during white-nose syndrome reveal possible mechanisms for both virulence and host resistance. | | 2017 | 28806135 |
| fungus causing white-nose syndrome in bats accumulates genetic variability in north america with no sign of recombination. | emerging fungal diseases of wildlife are on the rise worldwide, and the white-nose syndrome (wns) epidemic in north american bats is a catastrophic example. the causal agent of wns is a single clone of the fungus pseudogymnoascus destructans. early evolutionary change in this clonal population has major implications for disease ecology and conservation. accumulation of variation in the fungus through mutation, and shuffling of variation through recombination, could affect the virulence and trans ... | 2017 | 28713859 |
| dispersal hazards of pseudogymnoascus destructans by bats and human activity at hibernacula in summer. | bats occupying hibernacula during summer are exposed to pseudogymnoascus destructans (pd), the causative agent of white-nose syndrome (wns), and may contribute to its dispersal. furthermore, equipment and clothing exposed to cave environments are a potential source for human-assisted spread of pd. to explore dispersal hazards for pd during the nonhibernal season, we tested samples that were collected from bats, the environment, and equipment at hibernacula in the eastern us between 18 july-22 au ... | 2017 | 28640713 |
| microbial inhibitors of the fungus pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causal agent of white-nose syndrome in bats. | pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in hibernating bats, has spread across eastern north america over the past decade and decimated bat populations. the saprotrophic growth of p. destructans may help to perpetuate the white-nose syndrome epidemic, and recent model predictions suggest that sufficiently reducing the environmental growth of p. destructans could help mitigate or prevent white-nose syndrome-associated bat colony collapse. in this study, we screene ... | 2017 | 28632782 |
| resource capture and competitive ability of non-pathogenic pseudogymnoascus spp. and p. destructans, the cause of white-nose syndrome in bats. | white-nose syndrome (wns) is a devastating fungal disease that has been causing the mass mortality of hibernating bats in north america since 2006 and is caused by the psychrophilic dermatophyte pseudogymnoascus destructans. infected bats shed conidia into hibernaculum sediments and surfaces, but it is unknown if p. destructans can form stable, reproductive populations outside its bat hosts. previous studies have found non-pathogenic pseudogymnoascus in bat hibernacula, and these fungi may provi ... | 2017 | 28617823 |
| characterization of microsatellites in pseudogymnoascus destructans for white-nose syndrome genetic analysis. | despite only emerging in the past decade, white-nose syndrome has become among the most devastating wildlife diseases known. the pathogenic fungus pseudogymnoascus destructans infects hibernating bats and typically leads to high rates of mortality at hibernacula during winter in north america. we developed a set of genetic markers to better differentiate p. destructans isolates. we designed and successfully characterized these 23 microsatellite markers of p. destructans for use in disease ecolog ... | 2017 | 28475452 |
| mycobiome of the bat white nose syndrome affected caves and mines reveals diversity of fungi and local adaptation by the fungal pathogen pseudogymnoascus (geomyces) destructans. | current investigations of bat white nose syndrome (wns) and the causative fungus pseudogymnoascus (geomyces) destructans (pd) are intensely focused on the reasons for the appearance of the disease in the northeast and its rapid spread in the us and canada. urgent steps are still needed for the mitigation or control of pd to save bats. we hypothesized that a focus on fungal community would advance the understanding of ecology and ecosystem processes that are crucial in the disease transmission cy ... | 2014 | 25264864 |
| nonlethal screening of bat-wing skin with the use of ultraviolet fluorescence to detect lesions indicative of white-nose syndrome. | definitive diagnosis of the bat disease white-nose syndrome (wns) requires histologic analysis to identify the cutaneous erosions caused by the fungal pathogen pseudogymnoascus [formerly geomyces] destructans (pd). gross visual inspection does not distinguish bats with or without wns, and no nonlethal, on-site, preliminary screening methods are available for wns in bats. we demonstrate that long-wave ultraviolet (uv) light (wavelength 366-385 nm) elicits a distinct orange-yellow fluorescence in ... | 2014 | 24854396 |
| white-nose syndrome: human activity in the emergence of an extirpating mycosis. | in winter 2006, the bat population in howe cave, in central new york state, usa, contained a number of bats displaying an unusual white substance on their muzzles. the following year, numerous bats in four surrounding caves displayed unusual winter hibernation behavior, including day flying and entrance roosting. a number of bats were found dead and dying, and all demonstrated a white, powdery substance on their muzzles, ears, and wing membranes, which was later identified as the conidia of a pr ... | 2013 | 26184962 |
| skin lesions in european hibernating bats associated with geomyces destructans, the etiologic agent of white-nose syndrome. | white-nose syndrome (wns) has claimed the lives of millions of hibernating insectivorous bats in north america. its etiologic agent, the psychrophilic fungus geomyces destructans, causes skin lesions that are the hallmark of the disease. the fungal infection is characterized by a white powdery growth on muzzle, ears and wing membranes. while wns may threaten some species of north american bats with regional extinction, infection in hibernating bats in europe seems not to be associated with signi ... | 2013 | 24023927 |
| psychrophilic and psychrotolerant fungi on bats and the presence of geomyces spp. on bat wings prior to the arrival of white nose syndrome. | since 2006, geomyces destructans, the causative agent of white nose syndrome (wns), has killed over 5.7 million bats in north america. the current hypothesis suggests that this novel fungus is an invasive species from europe, but little is known about the diversity within the genus geomyces and its distribution on bats in the united states. we documented the psychrophilic and psychrotolerant fungal flora of hibernating bats prior to the arrival of wns using culture-based techniques. a total of 1 ... | 2013 | 23811520 |
| electrolyte depletion in white-nose syndrome bats. | the emerging wildlife disease white-nose syndrome is causing widespread mortality in hibernating north american bats. white-nose syndrome occurs when the fungus geomyces destructans infects the living skin of bats during hibernation, but links between infection and mortality are underexplored. we analyzed blood from hibernating bats and compared blood electrolyte levels to wing damage caused by the fungus. sodium and chloride tended to decrease as wing damage increased in severity. depletion of ... | 2013 | 23568916 |
| distribution and environmental persistence of the causative agent of white-nose syndrome, geomyces destructans, in bat hibernacula of the eastern united states. | white-nose syndrome (wns) is an emerging disease of hibernating bats caused by the recently described fungus geomyces destructans. first isolated in 2008, the origins of this fungus in north america and its ability to persist in the environment remain undefined. to investigate the correlation between manifestation of wns and distribution of g. destructans in the united states, we analyzed sediment samples collected from 55 bat hibernacula (caves and mines) both within and outside the known range ... | 2013 | 23241985 |
| a culture-based survey of fungi in soil from bat hibernacula in the eastern united states and its implications for detection of geomyces destructans, the causal agent of bat white-nose syndrome. | the recent emergence of white-nose syndrome (wns), a fungal disease causing unprecedented mortality among hibernating bats of eastern north america, has revealed a knowledge gap regarding fungal communities associated with bats and their hibernacula. we used culture-based techniques to investigate the diversity of fungi in soil samples collected from 24 bat hibernacula in the eastern united states. ribosomal rna regions (internal transcribed spacer and partial intergenic spacer) were sequenced t ... | 2013 | 23074174 |
| temperature-dependent growth of geomyces destructans, the fungus that causes bat white-nose syndrome. | white-nose syndrome (wns) is an emergent disease estimated to have killed over five million north american bats. caused by the psychrophilic fungus geomyces destructans, wns specifically affects bats during hibernation. we describe temperature-dependent growth performance and morphology for six independent isolates of g. destructans from north america and europe. thermal performance curves for all isolates displayed an intermediate peak with rapid decline in performance above the peak. optimal t ... | 2012 | 23029462 |
| bat white-nose syndrome: a real-time taqman polymerase chain reaction test targeting the intergenic spacer region of geomyces destructans. | the fungus geomyces destructans is the causative agent of white-nose syndrome (wns), a disease that has killed millions of north american hibernating bats. we describe a real-time taqman pcr test that detects dna from g. destructans by targeting a portion of the multicopy intergenic spacer region of the rrna gene complex. the test is highly sensitive, consistently detecting as little as 3.3 fg genomic dna from g. destructans. the real-time pcr test specifically amplified genomic dna from g. dest ... | 2013 | 22962349 |
| sociality, density-dependence and microclimates determine the persistence of populations suffering from a novel fungal disease, white-nose syndrome. | disease has caused striking declines in wildlife and threatens numerous species with extinction. theory suggests that the ecology and density-dependence of transmission dynamics can determine the probability of disease-caused extinction, but few empirical studies have simultaneously examined multiple factors influencing disease impact. we show, in hibernating bats infected with geomyces destructans, that impacts of disease on solitary species were lower in smaller populations, whereas in sociall ... | 2012 | 22747672 |
| clonal spread of geomyces destructans among bats, midwestern and southern united states. | | 2012 | 22516471 |
| white-nose syndrome: is this emerging disease a threat to european bats? | white-nose syndrome (wns) is a newly emergent disease that potentially threatens all temperate bat species. a recently identified fungus, geomyces destructans, is the most likely causative agent of this disease. until 2009, wns and g. destructans were exclusively known from north america, but recent studies have confirmed this fungus is also present in europe. we assembled an international wns consortium of 67 scientists from 29 countries and identified the most important research and conservati ... | 2011 | 21835492 |
| clonal genotype of geomyces destructans among bats with white nose syndrome, new york, usa. | the dispersal mechanism of geomyces destructans, which causes geomycosis (white nose syndrome) in hibernating bats, remains unknown. multiple gene genealogic analyses were conducted on 16 fungal isolates from diverse sites in new york state during 2008-2010. the results are consistent with the clonal dispersal of a single g. destructans genotype. | 2011 | 21762585 |
| investigating and managing the rapid emergence of white-nose syndrome, a novel, fatal, infectious disease of hibernating bats. | white-nose syndrome (wns) is a fatal disease of bats that hibernate. the etiologic agent of wns 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 proba ... | 2011 | 21284732 |
| editorial: what is in a name? a proposal to use geomycosis instead of white nose syndrome (wns) to describe bat infection caused by geomyces destructans. | | 2011 | 21207150 |
| management of the panzootic white-nose syndrome through culling of bats. | the probability of persistence of many species of hibernating bats in the united states is greatly reduced by an emerging infectious disease, white-nose syndrome (wns). in the united states wns is rapidly spreading and is associated with a psychrophilic fungus, geomyces destructans. wns has caused massive mortality of bats that hibernate. efforts to control the disease have been ineffective. the culling of bats in hibernacula has been proposed as a way to break the transmission cycle or slow the ... | 2011 | 21054529 |
| dna-based detection of the fungal pathogen geomyces destructans in soils from bat hibernacula. | white-nose syndrome (wns) is an emerging disease causing unprecedented morbidity and mortality among bats in eastern north america. the disease is characterized by cutaneous infection of hibernating bats by the psychrophilic fungus geomyces destructans. detection of g. destructans in environments occupied by bats will be critical for wns surveillance, management and characterization of the fungal lifecycle. we initiated an rrna gene region-based molecular survey to characterize the distribution ... | 2011 | 20952799 |
| white-nose syndrome fungus (geomyces destructans) in bats, europe. | white-nose syndrome is an emerging disease in north america that has caused substantial declines in hibernating bats. a recently identified fungus (geomyces destructans) causes skin lesions that are characteristic of this disease. typical signs of this infection were not observed in bats in north america before white-nose syndrome was detected. however, unconfirmed reports from europe indicated white fungal growth on hibernating bats without associated deaths. to investigate these differences, h ... | 2010 | 20678317 |
| rapid polymerase chain reaction diagnosis of white-nose syndrome in bats. | a newly developed polymerase chain reaction (pcr)-based method to rapidly and specifically detect geomyces destructans on the wings of infected bats from small quantities (1-2 mg) of tissue is described in the current study (methods for culturing and isolating g. destructans from bat skin are also described). the lower limits of detection for pcr were 5 fg of purified fungal dna or 100 conidia per 2 mg of wing tissue. by using histology as the standard, the pcr had a diagnostic specificity of 10 ... | 2010 | 20224080 |
| white-nose syndrome fungus (geomyces destructans) in bat, france. | white-nose syndrome is caused by the fungus geomyces destructans and is responsible for the deaths of >1,000,000 bats since 2006. this disease and fungus had been restricted to the northeastern united states. we detected this fungus in a bat in france and assessed the implications of this finding. | 2010 | 20113562 |
| pathologic findings and liver elements in hibernating bats with white-nose syndrome. | two groups of vespertilionid bats were collected from affected hibernacula. in group 1 (n, 14; pathology and microbiology), the average body weights of all species were at the lower limit of published ranges. twelve bats (86%) had mycotic growth in the epidermis, hair follicles, and sebaceous glands. geomyces destructans, with its characteristic curved conidia, was observed microscopically, cultured, and confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. dermatitis and mural folliculitis was nil to mild. w ... | 2010 | 20110222 |