Examination of several Oklahoma bat hibernacula cave soils for Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of White-Nose Syndrome

White-nose syndrome is an often lethal fungal infection of bats that is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, formerly Geomyces destructans. The fungal spores can persist for extended periods of time in the soil and on surfaces in caves where it might be found even after the bats depart...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Southwestern naturalist 2015-06, Vol.60 (2-3), p.213-217
Main Authors: Creecy, James P, Caire, William, Gilcrest, Kylie A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Annealing
Bats
Bats (Animals)
Caves
clinical examination
Colleges & universities
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Diseases
DNA
Environmental aspects
Feature s
fungal spores
Fungi
gypsum
Health aspects
hibernation
Laboratories
Myotis
Myotis velifer
national surveys
nose
Physiology
Pseudogymnoascus destructans
quantitative polymerase chain reaction
Risk factors
soil
soil sampling
tissues
United States Geological Survey
White-nose syndrome
wildlife
Wildlife conservation
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Summary:White-nose syndrome is an often lethal fungal infection of bats that is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, formerly Geomyces destructans. The fungal spores can persist for extended periods of time in the soil and on surfaces in caves where it might be found even after the bats depart. In 2010, a single bat, Myotis velifer, from a western Oklahoma gypsum cave, was initially diagnosed by the U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center, as “suspect white-nose syndrome.” Based on this, we decided to examine soil samples from various bat caves across Oklahoma for the presence of P. destructans. We used Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction to analyze 83 soil samples from 17 caves in Oklahoma. None of the soil samples were found to contain genetic material from P. destructans. We postulate that P. destructans has not yet reached Oklahoma because of the negative Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction results, because a National Wildlife Health Center reexamination of the original bat suggested the bat was negative for P. destructans, and subsequent analyses of bat nose and wing swabs, bat tissues, and physical examination of hibernating bats have all been negative for white-nose syndrome.
ISSN:0038-4909
1943-6262
1943-6262
DOI:10.1894/JKF-53.1