title: The Effects of Cutaneous Fatty Acids on the Growth of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the Etiological Agent of White-Nose Syndrome (WNS).
abstract: White Nose Syndrome (WNS) greatly increases the over-winter mortality of little brown (Myotis lucifugus), Indiana (Myotis sodalis), northern (Myotis septentrionalis), and tricolored (Perimyotis subflavus) bats. It is caused by a cutaneous infection with the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). Big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) are much more resistant to cutaneous infection with Pd, however. We thus conducted analyses of wing epidermis from hibernating E. fuscus and M. lucifugus to determine their fatty acid compositions, and laboratory Pd culture experiments at 4.0-13.4°C to determine the effects of these fatty acids on Pd growth. Our analyses revealed that the epidermis of both bat species contain the same 7 fatty acid types (14:0, 15:0, 16:0. 16:1, 18:0, 18:1, & 18:2), but the epidermis of M. lucifugus contains: a) more stearic (18:0) acid, b) less palmitoleic (16:1) acid, c) less myristic (14:0) acid, and, d) less oleic (18:1) acid than that of E. fuscus. The growth of Pd was inhibited by: a) myristic and stearic acids at 10.5-13.4°C, but not at 4.0-5.0°C, b) oleic acid at 5.0-10.6°C, c) palmitoleic acid, and, d) linoleic (18:2) acid at 5.0-10.6°C. One set of factors that enables E. fuscus to better resist cutaneous P. destructans infections (and thus WNS) therefore appears to be the relatively higher myristic, palmitoleic, and oleic acid contents of the epidermis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Fordham University, Louis Calder Center, P.O. Box 887, Armonk, NY, 10504, United States of America.
authors.forename: Craig L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.affiliation: Environmental Science Program, Fordham University, LH 400, Bronx, NY, 10458, United States of America.
authors.forename: Melissa R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Ingala
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Fordham University, Louis Calder Center, P.O. Box 887, Armonk, NY, 10504, United States of America.
authors.forename: Rebecca E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Ravenelle
authors.affiliation: Environmental Science Program, Fordham University, LH 400, Bronx, NY, 10458, United States of America.
authors.forename: Kelsey
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dougherty-Howard
authors.affiliation: Environmental Science Program, Fordham University, LH 400, Bronx, NY, 10458, United States of America.
authors.forename: Samuel O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Wicks
authors.affiliation: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY, 12233, United States of America.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.affiliation: New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center, Albany, NY, 12201, United States of America.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Rudd
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001203:Ascomycota / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D003881:Dermatomycoses / Q000662:veterinary*; D004817:Epidermis / Q000378:metabolism*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014921:Wings, Animal
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids