title: Western Bats as a Reservoir of Novel Streptomyces Species with Antifungal Activity.
abstract: At least two-thirds of commercial antibiotics today are derived fromActinobacteria, more specifically from the genusStreptomycesAntibiotic resistance and new emerging diseases pose great challenges in the field of microbiology. Cave systems, in which actinobacteria are ubiquitous and abundant, represent new opportunities for the discovery of novel bacterial species and the study of their interactions with emergent pathogens. White-nose syndrome is an invasive bat disease caused by the fungusPseudogymnoascus destructans, which has killed more than six million bats in the last 7 years. In this study, we isolated naturally occurring actinobacteria from white-nose syndrome (WNS)-free bats from five cave systems and surface locations in the vicinity in New Mexico and Arizona, USA. We sequenced the 16S rRNA region and tested 632 isolates from 12 different bat species using a bilayer plate method to evaluate antifungal activity. Thirty-six actinobacteria inhibited or stopped the growth ofP. destructans, with 32 (88.9%) actinobacteria belonging to the genusStreptomycesIsolates in the generaRhodococcus,Streptosporangium,Luteipulveratus, andNocardiopsisalso showed inhibition. Twenty-five of the isolates with antifungal activity againstP. destructansrepresent 15 novelStreptomycesspp. based on multilocus sequence analysis. Our results suggest that bats in western North America caves possess novel bacterial microbiota with the potential to inhibitP. destructansIMPORTANCEThis study reports the largest collection of actinobacteria from bats with activity againstPseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungal causative agent of white-nose syndrome. Using multigene analysis, we discovered 15 potential novel species. This research demonstrates that bats and caves may serve as a rich reservoir for novelStreptomycesspecies with antimicrobial bioactive compounds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Paris S
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6168-5723
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Hamm
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
authors.forename: Nicole A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Caimi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
authors.forename: Diana E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Northup
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, Colorado, and Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
authors.forename: Ernest W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Valdez
authors.affiliation: Buecher Biological Consulting, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
authors.forename: Debbie C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Buecher
authors.affiliation: Crop Bioprotection Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Peoria, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Dunlap
authors.affiliation: Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Peoria, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Labeda
authors.affiliation: Crop Bioprotection Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Peoria, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Shiloh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lueschow
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois, USA a-porras-alfaro@wiu.edu.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Porras-Alfaro
mesh_terms: D039903:Actinobacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D000820:Animal Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D000818:Animals; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001130:Arizona; D001203:Ascomycota / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D064307:Microbiota; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D009181:Mycoses / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary; D009656:North America; D009666:Nose / Q000382:microbiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D013302:Streptomyces / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: Actinobacteria; Pseudogymnoascus; Streptomyces; bats; caves; white-nose syndrome