Glycerophospholipid Profiles of Bats with White-Nose Syndrome.

ABSTRACT: Pseudogymnoascus destructans is an ascomycetous fungus responsible for the disease dubbed white-nose syndrome (WNS) and massive mortalities of cave-dwelling bats. The fungus infects bat epidermal tissue, causing damage to integumentary cells and pilosebaceous units. Differences in epidermal lipid composition caused by P. destructans infection could have drastic consequences for a variety of physiological functions, including innate immune efficiency and water retention. While bat surface lipid and stratum corneum lipid composition have been described, the differences in epidermal lipid content between healthy tissue and P. destructans-infected tissue have not been documented. In this study, we analyzed the effect of wing damage from P. destructans infection on the epidermal polar lipid com

SUBMITTER: Pannkuk EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4636339 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul-Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature