Lutsch Kelly E, McDonald Ashley G, Gabriel Kyle T, Cornelison Christopher T
The BioInnovation Laboratory, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Kennesaw State University, Science Room 519, 370 Paulding Ave., Kennesaw, Georgia 30144, USA.
J Wildl Dis. 2022 Apr 1;58(2):322-332. doi: 10.7589/JWD-D-21-00069.
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a disease among hibernating North American bats caused by the psychrophilic fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans. Since its discovery in New York state, US, in 2006, and as of 2020, WNS has rapidly spread to 34 American states and seven Canadian provinces, causing precipitous declines of native bat populations across North America. The rapid spread of this fungal pathogen has been facilitated by the social behavior of bats, as well as the ability of subterranean hibernacula to support a favorable environment for P. destructans, and is probably exacerbated by anthropogenic transmission events. Although many bat species roost in natural cave environments, bats also selectively use diverse structures for hibernacula. Certain areas of the US lack caves, forcing bats to select different winter roosting environments. Bats have been observed using roadway-associated structures, such as bridges and culverts, for roosting, especially in regions that lack natural cave environments. However, the potential for P. destructans transmission in such roadway-associated structures requires further investigation. Understanding potential pathogen transmission in these widely used anthropogenic structures is crucial to disease management and preventing further declines of imperiled bat populations. Our study investigated these structures as potential pathogen transmission corridors by surveying the use of these structures by Perimyotis subflavus and other susceptible bat populations and by measuring their temperature. The results suggest the environments of roadway-associated culverts are thermally conducive to the proliferation of P. destructans-even in regions with mild winters-and the development of WNS in susceptible bat populations. It is apparent these roadway-associated structures have the potential to spread P. destructans and exacerbate the effect of WNS on susceptible bat populations.
白鼻综合征（WNS）是一种发生在北美冬眠蝙蝠中的疾病，由嗜冷真菌毁灭拟青霉引起。自2006年在美国纽约州首次发现以来，截至2020年，WNS已迅速蔓延至美国34个州和加拿大7个省，导致北美本土蝙蝠种群数量急剧下降。这种真菌病原体的快速传播得益于蝙蝠的社会行为，以及地下冬眠场所为毁灭拟青霉提供适宜环境的能力，人为传播事件可能也加剧了这一情况。尽管许多蝙蝠物种栖息在天然洞穴环境中，但蝙蝠也会有选择地利用各种不同结构作为冬眠场所。美国某些地区缺乏洞穴，这迫使蝙蝠选择不同的冬季栖息环境。人们观察到蝙蝠会利用与道路相关的结构，如桥梁和涵洞进行栖息，尤其是在缺乏天然洞穴环境的地区。然而，毁灭拟青霉在这类与道路相关的结构中的传播潜力仍需进一步研究。了解这些广泛使用的人为结构中的潜在病原体传播对于疾病管理和防止濒危蝙蝠种群数量进一步下降至关重要。我们的研究通过调查黄翅蝠和其他易感蝙蝠种群对这些结构的使用情况并测量其温度，来研究这些结构作为潜在病原体传播通道的可能性。结果表明，与道路相关的涵洞环境在温度上有利于毁灭拟青霉的繁殖——即使在冬季温和的地区——也有利于易感蝙蝠种群中白鼻综合征的发展。显然，这些与道路相关的结构有可能传播毁灭拟青霉，并加剧白鼻综合征对易感蝙蝠种群的影响。
