Skin fungal assemblages of bats vary based on susceptibility to white-nose syndrome.

ABSTRACT: Microbial skin assemblages, including fungal communities, can influence host resistance to infectious diseases. The diversity-invasibility hypothesis predicts that high-diversity communities are less easily invaded than species-poor communities, and thus diverse microbial communities may prevent pathogens from colonizing a host. To explore the hypothesis that host fungal communities mediate resistance to infection by fungal pathogens, we investigated characteristics of bat skin fungal communities as they relate to susceptibility to the emerging disease white-nose syndrome (WNS). Using a culture-based approach, we compared skin fungal assemblage characteristics of 10 bat species that differ in susceptibility to WNS across 10 eastern U.S. states. The fungal assemblages on WNS-susceptible bat

SUBMITTER: Vanderwolf KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8027032 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature