White-nose syndrome without borders: Pseudogymnoascus destructans infection tolerated in Europe and Palearctic Asia but not in North America

0455973 - ÚBO 2017 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Zukal, Jan - Banďouchová, H. - Brichta, J. - Cmoková, A. - Jaron, K. S. - Kolařík, Miroslav - Kováčová, V. - Kubátová, A. - Nováková, Alena - Orlov, O. - Pikula, J. - Presetnik, P. - Šuba, J. - Zahradníková Jr., A. - Martínková, Natália
White-nose syndrome without borders: Pseudogymnoascus destructans infection tolerated in Europe and Palearctic Asia but not in North America.
Scientific Reports. Roč. 6, č. 19829 (2016), č. článku 19829. ISSN 2045-2322. E-ISSN 2045-2322
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP506/12/1064
Institutional support: RVO:68081766 ; RVO:61388971
Keywords : White-nose syndrome * zoonotic viruses * emerging disease
Subject RIV: EG - Zoology; EE - Microbiology, Virology (MBU-M)
Impact factor: 4.259, year: 2016

A striking feature of white-nose syndrome, a fungal infection of hibernating bats, is the difference in infection outcome between North America and Europe. Here we show high WNS prevalence both in Europe and on the West Siberian Plain in Asia. Palearctic bat communities tolerate similar fungal loads of Pseudogymnoascus destructans infection as their Nearctic counterparts and histopathology indicates equal focal skin tissue invasiveness pathognomonic for WNS lesions. Fungal load positively correlates with disease intensity and it reaches highest values at intermediate latitudes. Prevalence and fungal load dynamics in Palearctic bats remained persistent and high between 2012 and 2014. Dominant haplotypes of five genes are widespread in North America, Europe and Asia, expanding the source region of white-nose syndrome to non-European hibernacula. Our data provides evidence for both endemicity and tolerance to this persistent virulent fungus in the Palearctic, suggesting that hostpathogen interaction equilibrium has been established.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0256570