Microbial inhibitors of the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causal agent of white-nose syndrome in bats

PLoS One. 2017 Jun 20;12(6):e0179770. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179770. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in hibernating bats, has spread across eastern North America over the past decade and decimated bat populations. The saprotrophic growth of P. destructans may help to perpetuate the white-nose syndrome epidemic, and recent model predictions suggest that sufficiently reducing the environmental growth of P. destructans could help mitigate or prevent white-nose syndrome-associated bat colony collapse. In this study, we screened 301 microbes from diverse environmental samples for their ability to inhibit the growth of P. destructans. We identified 145 antagonistic isolates, 53 of which completely or nearly completely inhibited the growth of P. destructans in co-culture. Further analysis of our best antagonists indicated that these microbes have different modes of action and may have some specificity in inhibiting P. destructans. The results suggest that naturally-occurring microbes and/or their metabolites may be considered further as candidates to ameliorate bat colony collapse due to P. destructans.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibiosis*
  • Ascomycota / drug effects
  • Ascomycota / growth & development*
  • Bacillus / growth & development
  • Bacillus / metabolism
  • Chiroptera / microbiology*
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
  • Mycoses / microbiology*
  • Mycoses / pathology
  • Mycoses / prevention & control
  • Pantoea / growth & development
  • Pantoea / metabolism
  • Streptomyces / growth & development
  • Streptomyces / metabolism
  • Volatile Organic Compounds / analysis
  • Volatile Organic Compounds / pharmacology

Substances

  • Volatile Organic Compounds

Grants and funding

This work was funded by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada grants to Emma W. Micalizzi (CGSM) and Myron L. Smith (RGPIN 2014-05436). GPW has a commercial affiliation with his business RIFDS Inc. The funder provided support in the form of salary for author G.P.W, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of this author are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.