A Palearctic view of a bat fungal disease.

Autor: Whiting-Fawcett F; Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.; BatLab Finland, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland., Blomberg AS; BatLab Finland, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland., Troitsky T; BatLab Finland, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland., Meierhofer MB; BatLab Finland, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland., Field KA; Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, USA., Puechmaille SJ; Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution Montpellier (ISEM), University of Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France.; Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France., Lilley TM; BatLab Finland, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology [Conserv Biol] 2024 Apr 15, pp. e14265. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Apr 15.
DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14265
Abstrakt: The fungal infection causing white-nose disease in hibernating bats in North America has resulted in dramatic population declines of affected species, since the introduction of the causative agent Pseudogymnoascus destructans. The fungus is native to the Palearctic, where it also infects several bat species, yet rarely causes severe pathology or the death of the host. Pseudogymnoascus destructans infects bats during hibernation by invading and digesting the skin tissue, resulting in the disruption of torpor patterns and consequent emaciation. Relations among pathogen, host, and environment are complex, and individuals, populations, and species respond to the fungal pathogen in different ways. For example, the Nearctic Myotis lucifugus responds to infection by mounting a robust immune response, leading to immunopathology often contributing to mortality. In contrast, the Palearctic M. myotis shows no significant immunological response to infection. This lack of a strong response, resulting from the long coevolution between the hosts and the pathogen in the pathogen's native range, likely contributes to survival in tolerant species. After more than 15 years since the initial introduction of the fungus to North America, some of the affected populations are showing signs of recovery, suggesting that the fungus, hosts, or both are undergoing processes that may eventually lead to coexistence. The suggested or implemented management methods of the disease in North America have encompassed, for example, the use of probiotics and fungicides, vaccinations, and modifying the environmental conditions of the hibernation sites to limit the growth of the pathogen, intensity of infection, or the hosts' responses to it. Based on current knowledge from Eurasia, policy makers and conservation managers should refrain from disrupting the ongoing evolutionary processes and adopt a holistic approach to managing the epizootic.
(© 2024 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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