Identification of Probiotic Bacteria from the Cutaneous Microbiome of Endangered Tennessee Bats

Abstract

Since its arrival in 2006, the fungal agent of White‐Nose Syndrome (WNS), Psuedogymnascus destructans (Pd), has rapidly spread across the eastern United States. As a result, millions of native bats have been killed. This fungal pathogen infects bats in cave systems during their hibernation, causing disruption of natural physiological processes. Notably, the affected species experience an increased frequency of arousal from hibernation, which causes them to consume more of their reserved energy, eventually causing the bat to die of starvation. WNS, which is capable of producing a near 100% mortality rate within the bat's roost during a given hibernation cycle, has been confirmed to infect nine bat species present in the Eastern United States, three of which are federally listed as endangered. The presence of Pd has also been observed on six additional bat species without causing diagnostic symptoms. To provide treatment for Pd, current options include the use of anti‐fungal and volatile compounds as well as naturally occurring probiotic bacteria. The primary objectives of this research are 1) to evaluate and determine if the resident cutaneous microbiome of bats displays anti‐fungal activity against this fungal pathogen, and 2) to identify key probiotic bacterial strains for future biocontrol assessment. Currently, 355 bacterial isolates have been isolated into pure culture from 78 bat skin swab samples. It has been determined that through the use of microbiological challenge assays of the bacterial isolates against Pd, that 111 cultures from bat skin exhibit production of diffusible organic compounds and metabolites that display anti‐fungal activity against Pd. An isolate from the Actinobacteria (genus Streptomyces) has been identified to produce volatile organic compounds that completely inhibit fungal growth. Identification of the bioactive compound(s) is under investigation.Support or Funding InformationSupport and funding were provided by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.