Abstract
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) that affects bats during hibernation. Although millions of bats have died from WNS in North America, mass mortality has not been observed among European bats infected by the fungus, leading to the suggestion that bats in Europe are immune. We tested the hypothesis that an antibody-mediated immune response can provide protection against WNS by quantifying antibodies reactive to Pd in blood samples from seven species of free-ranging bats in North America and two free-ranging species in Europe. We also quantified antibodies in blood samples from little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) that were part of a captive colony that we injected with live Pd spores mixed with adjuvant, as well as individuals surviving a captive Pd infection trial. Seroprevalence of antibodies against Pd, as well as antibody titers, was greater among little brown myotis than among four other species of cave-hibernating bats in North America, including species with markedly lower WNS mortality rates. Among little brown myotis, the greatest titers occurred in populations occupying regions with longer histories of WNS, where bats lacked secondary symptoms of WNS. We detected antibodies cross-reactive with Pd among little brown myotis naïve to the fungus. We observed high titers among captive little brown myotis injected with Pd. We did not detect antibodies against Pd in Pd-infected European bats during winter, and titers during the active season were lower than among little brown myotis. These results show that antibody-mediated immunity cannot explain survival of European bats infected with Pd and that little brown myotis respond differently to Pd than species with higher WNS survival rates. Although it appears that some species of bats in North America may be developing resistance to WNS, an antibody-mediated immune response does not provide an explanation for these remnant populations.
Highlights
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease responsible for precipitous declines in bat populations in North America (Lorch et al 2011; Blehert 2012; Reeder and Moore 2013; Frick et al 2015)
To test whether little brown myotis mount an antibody response to Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) when infected with the fungus, we compared anti-Pd antibody levels in captive bats previously infected with Pd (n = 44) to uninfected conspecifics (n = 44)
We did not observe greater seroprevalence or titers of anti-Pd antibodies in European than in North American species, and notably, we did not detect antibodies against Pd among greater mouse-eared myotis both infected and uninfected with Pd during hibernation
Summary
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease responsible for precipitous declines in bat populations in North America (Lorch et al 2011; Blehert 2012; Reeder and Moore 2013; Frick et al 2015). Since its discovery in New York in 2006, millions of bats have died from WNS, with mortality continuing at an alarming rate as the disease spreads across the United States and Canada (Coleman and Reichard 2014; Frick et al 2015). Population declines in excess of 90% have been estimated for several species, leading to predictions of regional and species-level extinctions in the near future (Frick et al 2010, 2015; Turner et al 2011).
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