Molecular Detection of the Causative Agent of White-nose Syndrome on Rafinesque's Big-eared Bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) and Two Species of Migratory Bats in the Southeastern USA

2015 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 519-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riley F. Bernard ◽  
Jeffrey T. Foster ◽  
Emma V. Willcox ◽  
Katy L. Parise ◽  
Gary F. McCracken
Keyword(s):  
Causative Agent ◽  
Molecular Detection ◽  
Southeastern Usa ◽  
Corynorhinus Rafinesquii ◽  
White Nose Syndrome

scholarly journals Bacteria Isolated from Bats Inhibit the Growth of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the Causative Agent of White-Nose Syndrome

PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. e0121329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph R. Hoyt ◽  
Tina L. Cheng ◽  
Kate E. Langwig ◽  
Mallory M. Hee ◽  
Winifred F. Frick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Causative Agent ◽  
Pseudogymnoascus Destructans ◽  
White Nose Syndrome

scholarly journals Destructin-1 is a collagen-degrading endopeptidase secreted by Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of white-nose syndrome

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (24) ◽  
pp. 7478-7483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony J. O’Donoghue ◽  
Giselle M. Knudsen ◽  
Chapman Beekman ◽  
Jenna A. Perry ◽  
Alexander D. Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Causative Agent ◽  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
Hydrolytic Enzymes ◽  
Collagen Degradation ◽  
Mammalian Host ◽  
Peptidase Activity ◽  
Pseudogymnoascus Destructans ◽  
White Nose Syndrome ◽  
Proteolytic Activities ◽  
The Impact

Pseudogymnoascus destructans is the causative agent of white-nose syndrome, a disease that has caused the deaths of millions of bats in North America. This psychrophilic fungus proliferates at low temperatures and targets hibernating bats, resulting in their premature arousal from stupor with catastrophic consequences. Despite the impact of white-nose syndrome, little is known about the fungus itself or how it infects its mammalian host. P. destructans is not amenable to genetic manipulation, and therefore understanding the proteins involved in infection requires alternative approaches. Here, we identify hydrolytic enzymes secreted by P. destructans, and use a novel and unbiased substrate profiling technique to define active peptidases. These experiments revealed that endopeptidases are the major proteolytic activities secreted by P. destructans, and that collagen, the major structural protein in mammals, is actively degraded by the secretome. A serine endopeptidase, hereby-named Destructin-1, was subsequently identified, and a recombinant form overexpressed and purified. Biochemical analysis of Destructin-1 showed that it mediated collagen degradation, and a potent inhibitor of peptidase activity was identified. Treatment of P. destructans-conditioned media with this antagonist blocked collagen degradation and facilitated the detection of additional secreted proteolytic activities, including aminopeptidases and carboxypeptidases. These results provide molecular insights into the secretome of P. destructans, and identify serine endopeptidases that have the clear potential to facilitate tissue invasion and pathogenesis in the mammalian host.

scholarly journals Characteristics of caves used by wintering bats in a subtropical environment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa M Smith ◽  
Terry J. Doonan ◽  
Andrea L. Sylvia ◽  
Jeffery A. Gore
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Mixed Effects ◽  
Mixed Effects Models ◽  
Pseudogymnoascus Destructans ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Corynorhinus Rafinesquii ◽  
White Nose Syndrome ◽  
Southeastern Myotis ◽  
Generalized Linear Mixed Effects ◽  
Surrounding Landscape

Many cave-roosting bats are declining in number throughout their range because of multiple threats, including disease, disturbance by humans, and habitat loss. Successful conservation of cave-roosting bats requires an understanding of the roles of microclimate, cave structure, and the surrounding landscape on the distribution and abundance of bats, and in particular, the use of winter cave roosts.  Cave bats have been well-studied in temperate climates, but we know little about these bats in subtropical climates. From 2015-2017 we conducted 399 winter surveys of 162 caves in Florida to evaluate factors affecting presence and abundance of bats at cave roosts.  We also determined whether temperatures at these cave roosts were suitable for Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. Across all 3 years, we detected three species of bats: tri-colored bats Perimyotis subflavus in 126 (77.8%) caves, southeastern myotis Myotis austroriparius in 51 (31.5%) caves, and a single Rafinesque's big-eared bat Corynorhinus rafinesquii. We analyzed presence of both tri-colored bats and southeastern myotis in caves using mixed-effects models with a binomial distribution and the number of tri-colored bats using generalized linear mixed-effects models with a Poisson error distribution. Tri-colored bat presence was significantly and positively influenced by a cooler cave surface temperature, larger cave entrance size, as well as a single entrance, and the presence of solution holes. Tri-colored bat abundance increased in longer, cooler caves that had solution holes, a single entrance, free of obstructions, and had no signs of flooding. Southeastern myotis presence was positively associated with longer, domed caves. To be most effective, conservation efforts in subtropical climates should focus on caves with the identified characteristics. More than 90% of caves surveyed each year had a cave interior surface temperature below the upper critical growth limit for P. destructans (19.8 °C), indicating that most Florida caves are suitable for growth of P. destructans. Therefore, regular monitoring of winter bat populations in subtropical caves may be important for detecting P. destructans or white-nose syndrome.

Examination of bats in western Oklahoma for antibodies againstPseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of White-Nose Syndrome

2015 ◽  
Vol 60 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 145-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Brennan ◽  
William Caire ◽  
Nicholas Pugh ◽  
Susan Chapman ◽  
Alison H. Robbins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Causative Agent ◽  
White Nose Syndrome

scholarly journals Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever in Saudi Arabia: molecular detection from camel and other domestic livestock

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 715-719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osama B. Mohammed ◽  
Abdulrahman A. Jarelnabi ◽  
Riyadh S. Aljumaah ◽  
Mohammed A. Alshaikh ◽  
Amel O. Bakhiet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Coxiella Burnetii ◽  
Causative Agent ◽  
Molecular Detection ◽  
Q Fever ◽  
Domestic Livestock

scholarly journals Molecular detection of Babesia spp. in ticks sampled from asymptomatic dogs in the area of some Belgrade municipalities

2016 ◽  
Vol 70 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 175-184
Author(s):  
Darko Davitkov ◽  
Srecko Terzic ◽  
Dajana Davitkov ◽  
Milena Radakovic ◽  
Bojan Gajic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Causative Agent ◽  
Molecular Detection ◽  
Rhipicephalus Sanguineus ◽  
Dermacentor Reticulatus ◽  
Species Determination ◽  
Pcr Rflp ◽  
Causative Agents ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Clinically Significant ◽  
Babesia Spp

Babesiosis of domestic animals is a vector transmissible and clinically significant disease, caused by protozoa of genus Babesia and Theileria. Possible causative agents for this disease in dogs in Europe are: Babesia canis, B. gibsoni, B. vogeli and B. microti-like. Diagnostics of babesiosis of dogs was for a long time based on the visual inspection of stained blood smear under a microscope, while today there have been increasingly used molecular methods of detection in precise, species diagnostics. The objective of this work was molecular detection of the cause of babesiosis of dogs in the ticks sampled from asymptomatic dogs in the region of some Belgrade municipalities, all for better understanding of epizootiological situation. From three sites in Belgrade, there were collected 49 ticks, sampled from the dogs with no symptoms. There was carried out the determination of the ticks, and after that, DNA was isolated for molecular examination. First, there was performed Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), for determining the species of the genus Babesia, and after that there was also carried out the determining of polymorphism in the length of restriction fragments (RFLP) for the purpose of the causative agent species determination. Out of the total number of the examined ticks, 18,34% were positive on Babesia spp. By RFLP method, in two cases (4,08%) B. Gibsoni was identified, while in 7 cas?es (14,92%) there were no restriction sites for the used enzymes, what suggests that most likely it was B. canis. The ticks positive on the cause of babesiosis were: Dermacentor reticulatus (4 cases), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (4 cases) i Ixodes ricinus (1 case). This work confirms the presence of Babesia spp. in the ticks sampled from asmptomatic dogs on the teritory of Belgrade as well as the significance of PCR-RFLP method in diagnostics and identification of the causative agent of babesiosis in dogs. For the first time in Serbia, there was determined the presence of B. gibsoni in ticks (Species Rhipicephalus sanguineus)

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