Genes in some bats change due to deadly white-nose syndrome saltlakecitysun.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from saltlakecitysun.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Credit: Sarah Gignoux-Wolfsohn
Scientists have found genetic differences between bats killed by white-nose syndrome and bats that survived, suggesting that survivors rapidly evolve to resist the fungal disease, according to a Rutgers-led study with big implications for deciding how to safeguard bat populations.
White-nose syndrome has killed millions of bats in North America since 2006, following its introduction from Europe. The syndrome, caused by the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, is arguably the most catastrophic wildlife disease in history. It has led to unprecedented declines in many North American bat species, including the little brown bat (
Myotis lucifugus). Our finding that little brown bat populations have evolved, which could be why they survived, has large implications for management of bat populations going forward, said lead author Sarah Gignoux-Wolfsohn, a former postdoctoral associate at Rutgers University-New Brunswick now at the Smithsonian En