Abstract
Bat white-nose syndrome (WNS), caused by the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, has decimated North American hibernating bats since its emergence in 2006. Here, we utilize comparative genomics to examine the evolutionary history of this pathogen in comparison to six closely related nonpathogenic species. P. destructans displays a large reduction in carbohydrate-utilizing enzymes (CAZymes) and in the predicted secretome (~50%), and an increase in lineage-specific genes. The pathogen has lost a key enzyme, UVE1, in the alternate excision repair (AER) pathway, which is known to contribute to repair of DNA lesions induced by ultraviolet (UV) light. Consistent with a nonfunctional AER pathway, P. destructans is extremely sensitive to UV light, as well as the DNA alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS). The differential susceptibility of P. destructans to UV light in comparison to other hibernacula-inhabiting fungi represents a potential “Achilles’ heel” of P. destructans that might be exploited for treatment of bats with WNS.
Highlights
Bat white-nose syndrome (WNS), caused by the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, has decimated North American hibernating bats since its emergence in 2006
Recent phylogenetic work that aimed at identification and resolution of closely related species to P. destructans resulted in moving this species from genus Geomyces to Pseudogymnoascus[4]
Sampling for fungal isolates from hibernacular soil resulted in identification of other closely related Pseudogymnoascus species that are not known to be pathogenic[12]
Summary
Bat white-nose syndrome (WNS), caused by the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, has decimated North American hibernating bats since its emergence in 2006. We utilize comparative genomics to examine the evolutionary history of this pathogen in comparison to six closely related nonpathogenic species. WNS can result in >90% mortality in local hibernating bat populations[2] and is caused by the psychrophilic fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans[3,4]. P. destructans has spread in a “bulls eye” pattern in North America and has only been found in environments where WNS-infected bats are found, strongly suggesting that the fungus is not native to North America and represents a classic example of an introduced pathogen decimating a naïve population[12,13].
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