White-nose syndrome(WNS)has caused recent catastrophic declines among multiple species of bats in eastern North America.The disease's name derives from a visually apparent white growth of the newly discovered fung...White-nose syndrome(WNS)has caused recent catastrophic declines among multiple species of bats in eastern North America.The disease's name derives from a visually apparent white growth of the newly discovered fungus Geomyces destructans on the skin(including the muzzle)of hibernating bats.Colonization of skin by this fungus is associated with characteristic cutaneous lesions that are the only consistent pathological finding related to WNS.However,the role of G.destructans in WNS remains controversial because evidence to implicate the fungus as the primary cause of this disease is lacking.The debate is fuelled,in part,by the assumption that fungal infections in mammals are most commonly associated with immune system dysfunction.Additionally,the recent discovery that G.destructans commonly colonizes the skin of bats of Europe,where no unusual bat mortality events have been reported,has generated further speculation that the fungus is an opportunistic pathogen and that other unidentified factors are the primary cause of WNS.展开更多
文摘White-nose syndrome(WNS)has caused recent catastrophic declines among multiple species of bats in eastern North America.The disease's name derives from a visually apparent white growth of the newly discovered fungus Geomyces destructans on the skin(including the muzzle)of hibernating bats.Colonization of skin by this fungus is associated with characteristic cutaneous lesions that are the only consistent pathological finding related to WNS.However,the role of G.destructans in WNS remains controversial because evidence to implicate the fungus as the primary cause of this disease is lacking.The debate is fuelled,in part,by the assumption that fungal infections in mammals are most commonly associated with immune system dysfunction.Additionally,the recent discovery that G.destructans commonly colonizes the skin of bats of Europe,where no unusual bat mortality events have been reported,has generated further speculation that the fungus is an opportunistic pathogen and that other unidentified factors are the primary cause of WNS.
