1
|
Liu Q, Liu Z, Wang H, Yao X. Different species of Chiroptera: Immune cells and molecules. J Med Virol 2024; 96:e29772. [PMID: 38949201 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.29772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2024] [Revised: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
The distinct composition and immune response characteristics of bats' innate and adaptive immune systems, which enable them to serve as host of numerous serious zoonotic viruses without falling ill, differ substantially from those of other mammals, it have garnered significant attention. In this article, we offer a systematic review of the names, attributes, and functions of innate and adaptive immune cells & molecules across different bat species. This includes descriptions of the differences shown by research between 71 bat species in 10 families, as well as comparisons between bats and other mammals. Studies of the immune cells & molecules of different bat species are necessary to understand the unique antiviral immunity of bats. By providing comprehensive information on these unique immune responses, it is hoped that new insights will be provided for the study of co-evolutionary dynamics between viruses and the bat immune system, as well as human antiviral immunity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qinlu Liu
- Department of Immunology, Center of Immuno-molecular Engineering, Innovation & Practice Base for Graduate Students Education, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China
| | - Zegang Liu
- Department of Immunology, Center of Immuno-molecular Engineering, Innovation & Practice Base for Graduate Students Education, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China
| | - Huifang Wang
- Department of Immunology, Center of Immuno-molecular Engineering, Innovation & Practice Base for Graduate Students Education, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China
| | - Xinsheng Yao
- Department of Immunology, Center of Immuno-molecular Engineering, Innovation & Practice Base for Graduate Students Education, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Whiting-Fawcett F, Blomberg AS, Troitsky T, Meierhofer MB, Field KA, Puechmaille SJ, Lilley TM. A Palearctic view of a bat fungal disease. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2024:e14265. [PMID: 38616727 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
The fungal infection causing white-nose disease in hibernating bats in North America has resulted in dramatic population declines of affected species, since the introduction of the causative agent Pseudogymnoascus destructans. The fungus is native to the Palearctic, where it also infects several bat species, yet rarely causes severe pathology or the death of the host. Pseudogymnoascus destructans infects bats during hibernation by invading and digesting the skin tissue, resulting in the disruption of torpor patterns and consequent emaciation. Relations among pathogen, host, and environment are complex, and individuals, populations, and species respond to the fungal pathogen in different ways. For example, the Nearctic Myotis lucifugus responds to infection by mounting a robust immune response, leading to immunopathology often contributing to mortality. In contrast, the Palearctic M. myotis shows no significant immunological response to infection. This lack of a strong response, resulting from the long coevolution between the hosts and the pathogen in the pathogen's native range, likely contributes to survival in tolerant species. After more than 15 years since the initial introduction of the fungus to North America, some of the affected populations are showing signs of recovery, suggesting that the fungus, hosts, or both are undergoing processes that may eventually lead to coexistence. The suggested or implemented management methods of the disease in North America have encompassed, for example, the use of probiotics and fungicides, vaccinations, and modifying the environmental conditions of the hibernation sites to limit the growth of the pathogen, intensity of infection, or the hosts' responses to it. Based on current knowledge from Eurasia, policy makers and conservation managers should refrain from disrupting the ongoing evolutionary processes and adopt a holistic approach to managing the epizootic.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- F Whiting-Fawcett
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
- BatLab Finland, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - A S Blomberg
- BatLab Finland, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - T Troitsky
- BatLab Finland, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - M B Meierhofer
- BatLab Finland, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - K A Field
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - S J Puechmaille
- Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution Montpellier (ISEM), University of Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
| | - T M Lilley
- BatLab Finland, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Pikula J, Brichta J, Seidlova V, Piacek V, Zukal J. Higher antibody titres against Pseudogymnoascus destructans are associated with less white-nose syndrome skin lesions in Palearctic bats. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1269526. [PMID: 38143741 PMCID: PMC10739372 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1269526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Serological tests can be used to test whether an animal has been exposed to an infectious agent, and whether its immune system has recognized and produced antibodies against it. Paired samples taken several weeks apart then document an ongoing infection and/or seroconversion. Methods In the absence of a commercial kit, we developed an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect the fungus-specific antibodies for Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the agent of white-nose syndrome in bats. Results and Discussion Samples collected from European Myotis myotis (n=35) and Asian Myotis dasycneme (n=11) in their hibernacula at the end of the hibernation period displayed 100% seroprevalence of antibodies against P. destructans, demonstrating a high rate of exposure. Our results showed that the higher the titre of antibodies against P. destructans, the lower the infection intensity, suggesting that a degree of protection is provided by this arm of adaptive immunity in Palearctic bats. Moreover, P. destructans infection appears to be a seasonally self-limiting disease of Palearctic bats showing seroconversion as the WNS skin lesions heal in the early post-hibernation period.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiri Pikula
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czechia
- CEITEC: Central European Institute of Technology, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czechia
| | - Jiri Brichta
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czechia
| | - Veronika Seidlova
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czechia
| | - Vladimir Piacek
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czechia
| | - Jan Zukal
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czechia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Li A, Leng H, Li Z, Jin L, Sun K, Feng J. Temporal dynamics of the bat wing transcriptome: Insight into gene-expression changes that enable protection against pathogen. Virulence 2023; 14:2156185. [PMID: 36599840 PMCID: PMC9815227 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2022.2156185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Skin acts as a mechanical barrier between the body and its surrounding environment and plays an important role in resistance to pathogens. However, we still know little regarding skin responses to physiological changes, particularly with regard to responses against potential pathogens. We herein executed RNA-seq on the wing of the Rhinolophus ferrumequinum to assess gene-expression variations at four physiological stages: pre-hibernation, hibernation (early-hibernation and late-hibernation), and post-hibernation, as well as the gene-expression patterns of infected and uninfected bats with the Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). Our results showed that a greater number of differentially expressed genes between the more disparate physiological stages. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the down-regulated response pathways in hibernating bats included phosphorus metabolism and immune response, indicating metabolic suppression and decreased whole immune function. We also found up-regulated genes in post-hibernating bats that included C-type lectin receptor signalling, Toll-like receptor signalling pathway, and cell adhesion, suggesting that the immune response and skin integrity of the wing were improved after bats emerged from their hibernation and that this facilitated clearing Pd from the integument. Additionally, we found that the genes involved in cytokine or chemokine activity were up-regulated in late-hibernation compared to early-hibernation and that FOSB regulation of immune cell activation was differentially expressed in bats infected with Pd during late-hibernation, implying that the host's innate immune function was enhanced during late-hibernation so as to resist pathogenic infection. Our findings highlight the concept that maintenance of intrinsic immunity provides protection against pathogenic infections in highly resistant bats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aoqiang Li
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China,School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
| | - Haixia Leng
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Zhongle Li
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China,College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China
| | - Longru Jin
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Keping Sun
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China,CONTACT Keping Sun
| | - Jiang Feng
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China,College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China,Jiang Feng
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Harazim M, Perrot J, Varet H, Bourhy H, Lannoy J, Pikula J, Seidlová V, Dacheux L, Martínková N. Transcriptomic responses of bat cells to European bat lyssavirus 1 infection under conditions simulating euthermia and hibernation. BMC Immunol 2023; 24:7. [PMID: 37085747 PMCID: PMC10120247 DOI: 10.1186/s12865-023-00542-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Coevolution between pathogens and their hosts decreases host morbidity and mortality. Bats host and can tolerate viruses which can be lethal to other vertebrate orders, including humans. Bat adaptations to infection include localized immune response, early pathogen sensing, high interferon expression without pathogen stimulation, and regulated inflammatory response. The immune reaction is costly, and bats suppress high-cost metabolism during torpor. In the temperate zone, bats hibernate in winter, utilizing a specific behavioural adaptation to survive detrimental environmental conditions and lack of energy resources. Hibernation torpor involves major physiological changes that pose an additional challenge to bat-pathogen coexistence. Here, we compared bat cellular reaction to viral challenge under conditions simulating hibernation, evaluating the changes between torpor and euthermia. RESULTS We infected the olfactory nerve-derived cell culture of Myotis myotis with an endemic bat pathogen, European bat lyssavirus 1 (EBLV-1). After infection, the bat cells were cultivated at two different temperatures, 37 °C and 5 °C, to examine the cell response during conditions simulating euthermia and torpor, respectively. The mRNA isolated from the cells was sequenced and analysed for differential gene expression attributable to the temperature and/or infection treatment. In conditions simulating euthermia, infected bat cells produce an excess signalling by multitude of pathways involved in apoptosis and immune regulation influencing proliferation of regulatory cell types which can, in synergy with other produced cytokines, contribute to viral tolerance. We found no up- or down-regulated genes expressed in infected cells cultivated at conditions simulating torpor compared to non-infected cells cultivated under the same conditions. When studying the reaction of uninfected cells to the temperature treatment, bat cells show an increased production of heat shock proteins (HSPs) with chaperone activity, improving the bat's ability to repair molecular structures damaged due to the stress related to the temperature change. CONCLUSIONS The lack of bat cell reaction to infection in conditions simulating hibernation may contribute to the virus tolerance or persistence in bats. Together with the cell damage repair mechanisms induced in response to hibernation, the immune regulation may promote bats' ability to act as reservoirs of zoonotic viruses such as lyssaviruses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Markéta Harazim
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Květná 8, 60300, Brno, Czechia.
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 61137, Brno, Czechia.
| | - Juliette Perrot
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité Lyssavirus, Epidemiology and Neuropathology Unit, 28 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724, Paris Cedex 15, France
| | - Hugo Varet
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Hub, 28 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724, Paris Cedex 15, France
| | - Hervé Bourhy
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité Lyssavirus, Epidemiology and Neuropathology Unit, 28 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724, Paris Cedex 15, France
| | - Julien Lannoy
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité Lyssavirus, Epidemiology and Neuropathology Unit, 28 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724, Paris Cedex 15, France
| | - Jiri Pikula
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palackého třída 1946/1, 61242, Brno, Czechia
| | - Veronika Seidlová
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palackého třída 1946/1, 61242, Brno, Czechia
| | - Laurent Dacheux
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité Lyssavirus, Epidemiology and Neuropathology Unit, 28 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724, Paris Cedex 15, France
| | - Natália Martínková
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Květná 8, 60300, Brno, Czechia
- RECETOX, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 61137, Brno, Czechia
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Chen J, Zhang CY, Chen JY, Seah RWX, Zhang L, Ma L, Ding GH. Host defence peptide LEAP2 contributes to antimicrobial activity in a mustache toad (Leptobrachium liui). BMC Vet Res 2023; 19:47. [PMID: 36765333 PMCID: PMC9921027 DOI: 10.1186/s12917-023-03606-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 2 (LEAP2) is essential in host immunity against harmful pathogens and is only known to act as an extracellular modulator to regulate embryonic development in amphibians. However, there is a dearth of information on the antimicrobial function of amphibian LEAP2. Hence, a LEAP2 homologue from Leptobrachium liui was identified, characterized, and chemically synthesized, and its antibacterial activities and mechanisms were determined. RESULTS In this study, LEAP2 gene (Ll-LEAP2) cDNA was cloned and sequenced from the Chong'an Moustache Toad (Leptobrachium liui). The predicted amino acid sequence of Ll-LEAP2 comprises a signal peptide, a mature peptide, and a prodomain. From sequence analysis, it was revealed that Ll-LEAP2 belongs to the cluster of amphibian LEAP2 and displays high similarity to the Tropical Clawed Frog (Xenopus tropicalis)'s LEAP2. Our study revealed that LEAP2 protein was found in different tissues, with the highest concentration in the kidney and liver of L. liui; and Ll-LEAP2 mRNA transcripts were expressed in various tissues with the kidney having the highest mRNA expression level. As a result of Aeromonas hydrophila infection, Ll-LEAP2 underwent a noticeable up-regulation in the skin while it was down-regulated in the intestines. The chemically synthesized Ll-LEAP2 mature peptide was selective in its antimicrobial activity against several in vitro bacteria including both gram-positive and negative bacteria. Additionally, Ll-LEAP2 can kill specific bacteria by disrupting bacterial membrane and hydrolyzing bacterial gDNA. CONCLUSIONS This study is the first report on the antibacterial activity and mechanism of amphibian LEAP2. With more to uncover, the immunomodulatory functions and wound-healing activities of Ll-LEAP2 holds great potential for future research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jie Chen
- grid.440824.e0000 0004 1757 6428Laboratory of Amphibian Diversity Investigation, College of Ecology, Lishui University, Lishui, 323000 China
| | - Chi-Ying Zhang
- grid.440824.e0000 0004 1757 6428Laboratory of Amphibian Diversity Investigation, College of Ecology, Lishui University, Lishui, 323000 China
| | - Jing-Yi Chen
- grid.440824.e0000 0004 1757 6428Laboratory of Amphibian Diversity Investigation, College of Ecology, Lishui University, Lishui, 323000 China
| | - Rachel Wan Xin Seah
- grid.4280.e0000 0001 2180 6431Department of Biological Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117558 Singapore
| | - Le Zhang
- grid.440824.e0000 0004 1757 6428School of Medicine, Lishui University, Lishui, 323000 China
| | - Li Ma
- grid.440824.e0000 0004 1757 6428Laboratory of Amphibian Diversity Investigation, College of Ecology, Lishui University, Lishui, 323000 China
| | - Guo-Hua Ding
- Laboratory of Amphibian Diversity Investigation, College of Ecology, Lishui University, Lishui, 323000, China.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Simonis MC, Hartzler LK, Turner GG, Scafini MR, Johnson JS, Rúa MA. Long‐term exposure to an invasive fungal pathogen decreases
Eptesicus fuscus
body mass with increasing latitude. Ecosphere 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Molly C. Simonis
- Department of Biology University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma USA
- Environmental Sciences PhD Program Wright State University Dayton Ohio USA
| | - Lynn K. Hartzler
- Environmental Sciences PhD Program Wright State University Dayton Ohio USA
- Department of Biological Sciences Wright State University Dayton Ohio USA
| | - Gregory G. Turner
- Bureau of Wildlife Management Pennsylvania Game Commission Harrisburg Pennsylvania USA
| | - Michael R. Scafini
- Bureau of Wildlife Management Pennsylvania Game Commission Harrisburg Pennsylvania USA
| | - Joseph S. Johnson
- School of Information Technology University of Cincinnati Cincinnati Ohio USA
| | - Megan A. Rúa
- Environmental Sciences PhD Program Wright State University Dayton Ohio USA
- Department of Biological Sciences Wright State University Dayton Ohio USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Pannkuk EL, Dorville NASY, Bansal S, Bansal S, Dzal YA, Fletcher QE, Norquay KJO, Fornace AJ, Willis CKR. White-Nose Syndrome Disrupts the Splenic Lipidome of Little Brown Bats ( Myotis lucifugus) at Early Disease Stages. J Proteome Res 2023; 22:182-192. [PMID: 36479878 PMCID: PMC9929917 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.2c00600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
White-nose syndrome (WNS)-positive little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) may exhibit immune responses including increased cytokine and pro-inflammatory mediator gene levels. Bioactive lipid mediators (oxylipins) formed by enzymatic oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids can contribute to these immune responses, but have not been investigated in WNS pathophysiology. Nonenzymatic conversion of polyunsaturated fatty acids can also occur due to reactive oxygen species, however, these enantiomeric isomers will lack the same signaling properties. In this study, we performed a series of targeted lipidomic approaches on laboratory Pseudogymnoascus destructans-inoculated bats to assess changes in their splenic lipidome, including the formation of lipid mediators at early stages of WNS. Hepatic lipids previously identified were also resolved to a higher structural detail. We compared WNS-susceptible M. lucifugus to a WNS-resistant species, the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus). Altered splenic lipid levels were only observed in M. lucifugus. Differences in splenic free fatty acids included both omega-3 and omega-6 compounds. Increased levels of an enantiomeric monohydroxy DHA mixture were found, suggesting nonenzymatic formation. Changes in previously identified hepatic lipids were confined to omega-3 constituents. Together, these results suggest that increased oxidative stress, but not an inflammatory response, is occurring in bats at early stages of WNS that precedes fat depletion. These data have been submitted to metabolomics workbench and assigned a study number ST002304.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Evan L. Pannkuk
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, United States of America,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, United States of America,Center for Metabolomic Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, United States of America,Corresponding Authors: Evan L. Pannkuk, PhD, Georgetown University, 3970 Reservoir Road, NW, New Research Building, Room E504, Washington, DC, USA, 20057, , Phone: (202) 687-5650, Craig K.R. Willis, PhD, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Ave, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9, Canada, , Phone: (204) 786-9433
| | - Nicole A. S.-Y. Dorville
- Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9, Canada
| | - Shivani Bansal
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, United States of America
| | - Sunil Bansal
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, United States of America
| | - Yvonne A. Dzal
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Quinn E. Fletcher
- Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9, Canada
| | - Kaleigh J. O. Norquay
- Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9, Canada
| | - Albert J. Fornace
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, United States of America,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, United States of America,Center for Metabolomic Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, United States of America
| | - Craig K. R. Willis
- Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9, Canada,Corresponding Authors: Evan L. Pannkuk, PhD, Georgetown University, 3970 Reservoir Road, NW, New Research Building, Room E504, Washington, DC, USA, 20057, , Phone: (202) 687-5650, Craig K.R. Willis, PhD, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Ave, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9, Canada, , Phone: (204) 786-9433
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Characterization of Pseudogymnoascus destructans conidial adherence to extracellular matrix: Association with fungal secreted proteases and identification of candidate extracellular matrix binding proteins. Microb Pathog 2023; 174:105895. [PMID: 36423748 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2022.105895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Pseudogymnoascus destructans is the etiological agent of white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal skin infection of hibernating bats. Pathophysiology of the disease involves disruption of bat metabolism and hibernation patterns, which subsequently causes premature emergence and mortality. However, information on the mechanism(s) and virulence factors of P. destructans infection is minimally known. Typically, fungal adherence to host cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) is the critical first step of the infection. It allows pathogenic fungi to establish colonization and provides an entry for invasion in host tissues. In this study, we characterized P. destructans conidial adherence to laminin and fibronectin. We found that P. destructans conidia adhered to laminin and fibronectin in a dose-dependent, time-dependent and saturable manner. We also observed changes in the gene expression of secreted proteases, in response to ECM exposure. However, the interaction between fungal conidia and ECM was not specific, nor was it facilitated by enzymatic activity of secreted proteases. We therefore further investigated other P. destructans proteins that recognized ECM and found glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and elongation factor 1-alpha among the candidate proteins. Our results demonstrate that P. destructans may use conidial surface proteins to recognize laminin and fibronectin and facilitate conidial adhesion to ECM. In addition, other non-specific interactions may contribute to the conidial adherence to ECM. However, the ECM binding protein candidates identified in this study highlight additional potential fungal virulence factors worth investigating in the P. destructans mechanism of infection in future studies.
Collapse
|
10
|
Berman TS, Weinberg M, Moreno KR, Czirják GÁ, Yovel Y. In sickness and in health: the dynamics of the fruit bat gut microbiota under a bacterial antigen challenge and its association with the immune response. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1152107. [PMID: 37114064 PMCID: PMC10126333 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1152107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Interactions between the gut microbiome (GM) and the immune system influence host health and fitness. However, few studies have investigated this link and GM dynamics during disease in wild species. Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) have an exceptional ability to cope with intracellular pathogens and a unique GM adapted to powered flight. Yet, the contribution of the GM to bat health, especially immunity, or how it is affected by disease, remains unknown. Methods Here, we examined the dynamics of the Egyptian fruit bats' (Rousettus aegyptiacus) GM during health and disease. We provoked an inflammatory response in bats using lipopolysaccharides (LPS), an endotoxin of Gram-negative bacteria. We then measured the inflammatory marker haptoglobin, a major acute phase protein in bats, and analyzed the GM (anal swabs) of control and challenged bats using high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing, before the challenge, 24h and 48h post challenge. Results We revealed that the antigen challenge causes a shift in the composition of the bat GM (e.g., Weissella, Escherichia, Streptococcus). This shift was significantly correlated with haptoglobin concentration, but more strongly with sampling time. Eleven bacterial sequences were correlated with haptoglobin concentration and nine were found to be potential predictors of the strength of the immune response, and implicit of infection severity, notably Weissella and Escherichia. The bat GM showed high resilience, regaining the colony's group GM composition rapidly, as bats resumed foraging and social activities. Conclusion Our results demonstrate a tight link between bat immune response and changes in their GM, and emphasize the importance of integrating microbial ecology in ecoimmunological studies of wild species. The resilience of the GM may provide this species with an adaptive advantage to cope with infections and maintain colony health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tali S. Berman
- Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv – Yafo, Israel
- *Correspondence: Tali S. Berman, ; Maya Weinberg,
| | - Maya Weinberg
- Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv – Yafo, Israel
- *Correspondence: Tali S. Berman, ; Maya Weinberg,
| | - Kelsey R. Moreno
- Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv – Yafo, Israel
| | - Gábor Á. Czirják
- Department of Wildlife Diseases, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Yossi Yovel
- Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv – Yafo, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv – Yafo, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Differences in acute phase response to bacterial, fungal and viral antigens in greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis). Sci Rep 2022; 12:15259. [PMID: 36088405 PMCID: PMC9464231 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18240-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The acute phase response (APR) is an evolutionarily well-conserved part of the innate immune defense against pathogens. However, recent studies in bats yielded surprisingly diverse results compared to previous APR studies on both vertebrate and invertebrate species. This is especially interesting due to the known role of bats as reservoirs for viruses and other intracellular pathogens, while being susceptible to extracellular microorganisms such as some bacteria and fungi. To better understand these discrepancies and the reservoir-competence of bats, we mimicked bacterial, viral and fungal infections in greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis) and quantified different aspects of the APR over a two-day period. Individuals reacted most strongly to a viral (PolyI:C) and a bacterial (LPS) antigen, reflected by an increase of haptoglobin levels (LPS) and an increase of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte-ratio (PolyI:C and LPS). We did not detect fever, leukocytosis, body mass loss, or a change in the overall functioning of the innate immunity upon challenge with any antigen. We add evidence that bats respond selectively with APR to specific pathogens and that the activation of different parts of the immune system is species-specific.
Collapse
|
12
|
Forsythe A, Fontaine N, Bissonnette J, Hayashi B, Insuk C, Ghosh S, Kam G, Wong A, Lausen C, Xu J, Cheeptham N. Microbial isolates with Anti-Pseudogymnoascus destructans activities from Western Canadian bat wings. Sci Rep 2022; 12:9895. [PMID: 35701553 PMCID: PMC9198084 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-14223-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) is the causative agent of white-nose syndrome, which has resulted in the death of millions of bats in North America (NA) since 2006. Based on mortalities in eastern NA, the westward spread of infections likely poses a significant threat to western NA bats. To help prevent/reduce Pd infections in bats in western NA, we isolated bacteria from the wings of wild bats and screened for inhibitory activity against Pd. In total, we obtained 1,362 bacterial isolates from 265 wild bats of 13 species in western Canada. Among the 1,362 isolates, 96 showed inhibitory activity against Pd based on a coculture assay. The inhibitory activities varied widely among these isolates, ranging from slowing fungal growth to complete inhibition. Interestingly, host bats containing isolates with anti-Pd activities were widely distributed, with no apparent geographic or species-specific pattern. However, characteristics of roosting sites and host demography showed significant associations with the isolation of anti-Pd bacteria. Specifically, anthropogenic roosts and swabs from young males had higher frequencies of anti-Pd bacteria than those from natural roosts and those from other sex and age-groups, respectively. These anti-Pd bacteria could be potentially used to help mitigate the impact of WNS. Field trials using these as well as additional microbes from future screenings are needed in order to determine their effectiveness for the prevention and treatment against WNS.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adrian Forsythe
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Nick Fontaine
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, V2C 08C, Canada
| | - Julianna Bissonnette
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, V2C 08C, Canada
| | - Brandon Hayashi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, V2C 08C, Canada
| | - Chadabhorn Insuk
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada.,Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, V2C 08C, Canada
| | - Soumya Ghosh
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, V2C 08C, Canada.,Department of Genetics, Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Gabrielle Kam
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, V2C 08C, Canada
| | - Aaron Wong
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, V2C 08C, Canada
| | - Cori Lausen
- Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, P.O. Box 606, Kaslo, BC, V0G 1M0, Canada.
| | - Jianping Xu
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada.
| | - Naowarat Cheeptham
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, V2C 08C, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Doty AC, Wilson AD, Forse LB, Risch TS. Biomarker Metabolites Discriminate between Physiological States of Field, Cave and White-nose Syndrome Diseased Bats. SENSORS 2022; 22:s22031031. [PMID: 35161777 PMCID: PMC8840073 DOI: 10.3390/s22031031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Analysis of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions using electronic-nose (e-nose) devices has shown promise for early detection of white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats. Tricolored bats, Perimyotis subflavus, from three separate sampling groups defined by environmental conditions, levels of physical activity, and WNS-disease status were captured temporarily for collection of VOC emissions to determine relationships between these combinations of factors and physiological states, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd)-infection status, and metabolic conditions. Physiologically active (non-torpid) healthy individuals were captured outside of caves in Arkansas and Louisiana. In addition, healthy and WNS-diseased torpid bats were sampled within caves in Arkansas. Whole-body VOC emissions from bats were collected using portable air-collection and sampling-chamber devices in tandem. Electronic aroma-detection data using three-dimensional Principal Component Analysis provided strong evidence that the three groups of bats had significantly different e-nose aroma signatures, indicative of different VOC profiles. This was confirmed by differences in peak numbers, peak areas, and tentative chemical identities indicated by chromatograms from dual-column GC-analyses. The numbers and quantities of VOCs present in whole-body emissions from physiologically active healthy field bats were significantly greater than those of torpid healthy and diseased cave bats. Specific VOCs were identified as chemical biomarkers of healthy and diseased states, environmental conditions (outside and inside of caves), and levels of physiological activity. These results suggest that GC/E-nose dual-technologies based on VOC-detection and analyses of physiological states, provide noninvasive alternative means for early assessments of Pd-infection, WNS-disease status, and other physiological states.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anna C. Doty
- Department of Biology, California State University Bakersfield, Bakersfield, CA 93311, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR 72467, USA;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-661-654-6836
| | - A. Dan Wilson
- Pathology Department, Southern Hardwoods Laboratory, Center for Forest Genetics & Ecosystems Biology, Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 432 Stoneville Road, Stoneville, MS 38776, USA; (A.D.W.); (L.B.F.)
| | - Lisa B. Forse
- Pathology Department, Southern Hardwoods Laboratory, Center for Forest Genetics & Ecosystems Biology, Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 432 Stoneville Road, Stoneville, MS 38776, USA; (A.D.W.); (L.B.F.)
| | - Thomas S. Risch
- Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR 72467, USA;
- Arkansas Biosciences Institute, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR 72467, USA
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Costantini D, Weinberg M, Jordán L, Moreno KR, Yovel Y, Czirják GÁ. Induced bacterial sickness causes inflammation but not blood oxidative stress in Egyptian fruit bats ( Rousettus aegyptiacus). CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 10:coac028. [PMID: 35492418 PMCID: PMC9042053 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coac028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Bats are particularly interesting vertebrates in their response to pathogens owing to extremes in terms of tolerance and resistance. Oxidation is often a by-product of processes involved in the acute phase response, which may result in antimicrobial or self-damaging effects. We measured the immunological and oxidative status responses of Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) to a simulated bacterial infection using lipopolysaccharide injection. As expected, experimental bats exhibited increases in two humoral immunological markers. However, they surprisingly did not show any effects across two markers of oxidative damage and four antioxidant markers. We propose that this lack of effects on oxidative status may be due to a reduction in cell metabolism through sickness behaviours or given life history traits, such as a long lifespan and a frugivorous diet. Finally, the consistency in the pattern of elevation in haptoglobin and lysozyme between current and previous findings highlights their utility as diagnostic markers for extracellular infections in bats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David Costantini
- Corresponding author: Unité Physiologie Moléculaire et Adaptation, UMR 7221, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, CP32, 57 rue Cuvier 75005 Paris, France. Tel: 0033(0)140795374,
| | - Maya Weinberg
- Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, 6997801 Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Lilla Jordán
- Department of Wildlife Diseases, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Kelsey R Moreno
- Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, 6997801 Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Yossi Yovel
- Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, 6997801 Tel Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, 6997801 Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Gábor Á Czirják
- Department of Wildlife Diseases, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Korn VL, Pennerman KK, Padhi S, Bennett JW. Trans-2-hexenal downregulates several pathogenicity genes of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of white-nose syndrome in bats. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 2021; 48:kuab060. [PMID: 34415032 PMCID: PMC8788850 DOI: 10.1093/jimb/kuab060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
White-nose syndrome is an emergent wildlife disease that has killed millions of North American bats. It is caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans, a cold-loving, invasive fungal pathogen that grows on bat tissues and disrupts normal hibernation patterns. Previous work identified trans-2-hexenal as a fungistatic volatile compound that potentially could be used as a fumigant against P. destructans in bat hibernacula. To determine the physiological responses of the fungus to trans-2-hexenal exposure, we characterized the P. destructans transcriptome in the presence and absence of trans-2-hexenal. Specifically, we analyzed the effects of sublethal concentrations (5 μmol/L, 10 μmol/L, and 20 μmol/L) of gas-phase trans-2-hexenal of the fungus grown in liquid culture. Among the three treatments, a total of 407 unique differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, of which 74 were commonly affected across all three treatments, with 44 upregulated and 30 downregulated. Downregulated DEGs included several probable virulence genes including those coding for a high-affinity iron permease, a superoxide dismutase, and two protein-degrading enzymes. There was an accompanying upregulation of an ion homeostasis gene, as well as several genes involved in transcription, translation, and other essential cellular processes. These data provide insights into the mechanisms of action of trans-2-hexenal as an anti-fungal fumigant that is active at cold temperatures and will guide future studies on the molecular mechanisms by which six carbon volatiles inhibit growth of P. destructans and other pathogenic fungi.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Kayla K Pennerman
- Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Sally Padhi
- Department of Plant Biology, Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Joan W Bennett
- Department of Plant Biology, Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Towards a more healthy conservation paradigm: integrating disease and molecular ecology to aid biological conservation †. J Genet 2021. [PMID: 33622992 PMCID: PMC7371965 DOI: 10.1007/s12041-020-01225-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Parasites, and the diseases they cause, are important from an ecological and evolutionary perspective because they can negatively affect host fitness and can regulate host populations. Consequently, conservation biology has long recognized the vital role that parasites can play in the process of species endangerment and recovery. However, we are only beginning to understand how deeply parasites are embedded in ecological systems, and there is a growing recognition of the important ways in which parasites affect ecosystem structure and function. Thus, there is an urgent need to revisit how parasites are viewed from a conservation perspective and broaden the role that disease ecology plays in conservation-related research and outcomes. This review broadly focusses on the role that disease ecology can play in biological conservation. Our review specifically emphasizes on how the integration of tools and analytical approaches associated with both disease and molecular ecology can be leveraged to aid conservation biology. Our review first concentrates on disease-mediated extinctions and wildlife epidemics. We then focus on elucidating how host–parasite interactions has improved our understanding of the eco-evolutionary dynamics affecting hosts at the individual, population, community and ecosystem scales. We believe that the role of parasites as drivers and indicators of ecosystem health is especially an exciting area of research that has the potential to fundamentally alter our view of parasites and their role in biological conservation. The review concludes with a broad overview of the current and potential applications of modern genomic tools in disease ecology to aid biological conservation.
Collapse
|
17
|
Kane RA, Christodoulides N, Jensen IM, Becker DJ, Mansfield KL, Savage AE. Gene expression changes with tumor disease and leech parasitism in the juvenile green sea turtle skin transcriptome. Gene 2021; 800:145800. [PMID: 34175400 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2021.145800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Emerging infectious diseases are a major threat to biodiversity in the 21st century. Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is an epithelial tumor disease that affects immature and adult marine turtles worldwide, particularly green turtles (Chelonia mydas). We know little about the host factors contributing to FP susceptibility, in part because transcriptomic studies that compare transcript expression in turtles with and without FP are lacking. Here, we performed RNA-Seq on healthy skin tissue from immature C. mydas in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, USA, comparing turtles (1) with and without FP and (2) with and without leech parasites, a putative vector of FP. We assembled a de novo C. mydas skin transcriptome to identify transcripts with significant differential expression (DE) across FP and leech categories. Significant DE transcripts were found across FP and leech comparisons, including 10 of the same transcripts with DE across both comparisons. Leech-positive individuals significantly upregulated different immune and viral interaction transcripts than did leech-negative individuals, including viral interaction transcripts associated with herpesvirus interactions. This finding strengthens the role of marine leeches as mechanical vectors of Chelonid herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) which has been implicated as a causative agent of FP. FP-positive turtles upregulated several tumor progression and suppression transcripts relative to FP-negative turtles, which had no significant DE tumor progression transcripts. FP-positive turtles also upregulated significantly more protein interaction transcripts than FP-negative turtles. DE transcripts across leech comparisons showed no functional enrichment, whereas DE transcripts across FP comparisons showed some GO terms were enriched in FP-positive and FP negative turtles. Notably, only FP-negative turtles were enriched for GO terms involved in acquired and inflammatory immune gene regulation. Overall, our DE transcripts included several candidate genes that may play important roles in C. mydas resistance to or recovery from FP, highlighting that transcriptomics provides a promising venue to understand this impactful disease. Continued investigation of C. mydas responses to FP and leech affliction is imperative for species persistence and the conservation of marine ecosystems worldwide due to the essential role of sea turtles in ecosystem function and stability.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rachael A Kane
- Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States; School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States.
| | | | - Irelyn M Jensen
- Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States.
| | - Donald J Becker
- Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States.
| | | | - Anna E Savage
- Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Whiting-Fawcett F, Field KA, Puechmaille SJ, Blomberg AS, Lilley TM. Heterothermy and antifungal responses in bats. Curr Opin Microbiol 2021; 62:61-67. [PMID: 34098511 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2021.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Hibernation, a period where bats have suppressed immunity and low body temperatures, provides the psychrophilic fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans the opportunity to colonise bat skin, leading to severe disease in susceptible species. Innate immunity, which requires less energy and may remain more active during torpor, can control infections with local inflammation in some bat species that are resistant to infection. If infection is not controlled before emergence from hibernation, ineffective adaptive immune mechanisms are activated, including incomplete Th1, ineffective Th2, and variable Th17 responses. The Th17 and neutrophil responses, normally beneficial antifungal mechanisms, appear to be sources of immunopathology for susceptible bat species, because they are hyperactivated after return to homeothermy. Non-susceptible species show both well-balanced and suppressed immune responses both during and after hibernation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Flora Whiting-Fawcett
- Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | - Thomas M Lilley
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Pannkuk EL, Dorville NASY, Dzal YA, Fletcher QE, Norquay KJO, Willis CKR, Fornace AJ, Laiakis EC. Hepatic lipid signatures of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) and big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) at early stages of white-nose syndrome. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11581. [PMID: 34078939 PMCID: PMC8172879 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-90828-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emergent wildlife fungal disease of cave-dwelling, hibernating bats that has led to unprecedented mortalities throughout North America. A primary factor in WNS-associated bat mortality includes increased arousals from torpor and premature fat depletion during winter months. Details of species and sex-specific changes in lipid metabolism during WNS are poorly understood and may play an important role in the pathophysiology of the disease. Given the likely role of fat metabolism in WNS and the fact that the liver plays a crucial role in fatty acid distribution and lipid storage, we assessed hepatic lipid signatures of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) and big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) at an early stage of infection with the etiological agent, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). Differences in lipid profiles were detected at the species and sex level in the sham-inoculated treatment, most strikingly in higher hepatic triacylglyceride (TG) levels in E. fuscus females compared to males. Interestingly, several dominant TGs (storage lipids) decreased dramatically after Pd infection in both female M. lucifugus and E. fuscus. Increases in hepatic glycerophospholipid (structural lipid) levels were only observed in M. lucifugus, including two phosphatidylcholines (PC [32:1], PC [42:6]) and one phosphatidylglycerol (PG [34:1]). These results suggest that even at early stages of WNS, changes in hepatic lipid mobilization may occur and be species and sex specific. As pre-hibernation lipid reserves may aid in bat persistence and survival during WNS, these early perturbations to lipid metabolism could have important implications for management responses that aid in pre-hibernation fat storage.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Evan L Pannkuk
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20057, USA.
| | - Nicole A S-Y Dorville
- Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Yvonne A Dzal
- Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Quinn E Fletcher
- Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Kaleigh J O Norquay
- Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Craig K R Willis
- Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
| | - Albert J Fornace
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
| | - Evagelia C Laiakis
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Meierhofer MB, Lilley TM, Ruokolainen L, Johnson JS, Parratt SR, Morrison ML, Pierce BL, Evans JW, Anttila J. Ten-year projection of white-nose syndrome disease dynamics at the southern leading-edge of infection in North America. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210719. [PMID: 34074117 PMCID: PMC8170204 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Predicting the emergence and spread of infectious diseases is critical for the effective conservation of biodiversity. White-nose syndrome (WNS), an emerging infectious disease of bats, has resulted in high mortality in eastern North America. Because the fungal causative agent Pseudogymnoascus destructans is constrained by temperature and humidity, spread dynamics may vary by geography. Environmental conditions in the southern part of the continent are different than the northeast, where disease dynamics are typically studied, making it difficult to predict how the disease will manifest. Herein, we modelled WNS pathogen spread in Texas based on cave densities and average dispersal distances of hosts, projecting these results out to 10 years. We parameterized a predictive model of WNS epidemiology and its effects on bat populations with observed cave environmental data. Our model suggests that bat populations in northern Texas will be more affected by WNS mortality than southern Texas. As such, we recommend prioritizing the preservation of large overwintering colonies of bats in north Texas through management actions. Our model illustrates that infectious disease spread and infectious disease severity can become uncoupled over a gradient of environmental variation and highlight the importance of understanding host, pathogen and environmental conditions across a breadth of environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Melissa B Meierhofer
- Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, Texas A&M University, 534 John Kimbrough Boulevard, College Station, TX 77843, USA.,Natural Resources Institute, Texas A&M University, 534 John Kimbrough Boulevard, College Station, TX 77843, USA.,Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Thomas M Lilley
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Lasse Ruokolainen
- Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Yliopistonkatu 4, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Joseph S Johnson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA
| | - Steven R Parratt
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7BE, UK
| | - Michael L Morrison
- Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, Texas A&M University, 534 John Kimbrough Boulevard, College Station, TX 77843, USA
| | - Brian L Pierce
- Natural Resources Institute, Texas A&M University, 534 John Kimbrough Boulevard, College Station, TX 77843, USA
| | - Jonah W Evans
- Wildlife Diversity Program, Texas Parks and Wildlife, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, TX 78744, USA
| | - Jani Anttila
- Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Latokartanonkaari 9, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Fritze M, Puechmaille SJ, Costantini D, Fickel J, Voigt CC, Czirják GÁ. Determinants of defence strategies of a hibernating European bat species towards the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans. DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY 2021; 119:104017. [PMID: 33476670 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2021.104017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2020] [Revised: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the causative agent of white-nose syndrome in North America, has decimated bat populations within a decade. The fungus impacts bats during hibernation when physiological functions, including immune responses, are down-regulated. Studies have shown that Pd is native to Europe, where it is not associated with mass mortalities. Moreover, genomic and proteomic studies indicated that European bats may have evolved an effective immune defence, which is lacking in North American bats. However, it is still unclear which defence strategy enables European bats to cope with the pathogen. Here, we analyzed selected physiological and immunological parameters in torpid, Pd infected European greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis) showing three different levels of infection (asymptomatic, mild and severe symptoms). From a subset of the studied bats we tracked skin temperatures during one month of hibernation. Contrasting North American bats, arousal patterns remained unaffected by Pd infections in M. myotis. In general, heavier M. myotis aroused more often from hibernation and showed less severe disease symptoms than lean individuals; most likely because heavy bats were capable of reducing the Pd load more effectively than lean individuals. In the blood of severely infected bats, we found higher gene expression levels of an inflammatory cytokine (IL-1β), but lower levels of an acute phase protein (haptoglobin), reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs) and plasma non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity (OXY) compared to conspecifics with lower levels of infection. We conclude that M. myotis, and possibly also other European bat species, tolerate Pd infections during torpor by using selected acute phase response parameters at baseline levels, yet without arousing from torpor and without synthesizing additional immune molecules.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Fritze
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany; Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Sebastien J Puechmaille
- Institut des Sciences de L'Evolution, University of Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, 34095, Montpellier, France
| | - David Costantini
- Unité Physiologie Moléculaire et Adaptation (PhyMA), Muséum National D'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, CP32, 57 Rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Jörns Fickel
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany; Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Christian C Voigt
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany; Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gábor Á Czirják
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Neely BA, Becker DJ, Janech MG, Fenton MB, Simmons NB, Bland AM. Surveying the Vampire Bat ( Desmodus rotundus) Serum Proteome: A Resource for Identifying Immunological Proteins and Detecting Pathogens. J Proteome Res 2021; 20:2547-2559. [PMID: 33840197 PMCID: PMC9812275 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.0c00995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Bats are increasingly studied as model systems for longevity and as natural hosts for some virulent viruses. Yet the ability to characterize immune mechanisms of viral tolerance and to quantify infection dynamics in wild bats is often limited by small sample volumes and few species-specific reagents. Here, we demonstrate how proteomics can overcome these limitations by using data-independent acquisition-based shotgun proteomics to survey the serum proteome of 17 vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) from Belize. Using just 2 μL of sample and relatively short separations of undepleted serum digests, we identified 361 proteins across 5 orders of magnitude. Levels of immunological proteins in vampire bat serum were then compared to human plasma via published databases. Of particular interest were antiviral and antibacterial components, circulating 20S proteasome complex and proteins involved in redox activity. Lastly, we used known virus proteomes to putatively identify Rh186 from Macacine herpesvirus 3 and ORF1a from Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus, indicating that mass spectrometry-based techniques show promise for pathogen detection. Overall, these results can be used to design targeted mass-spectrometry assays to quantify immunological markers and detect pathogens. More broadly, our findings also highlight the application of proteomics in advancing wildlife immunology and pathogen surveillance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin A. Neely
- Chemical Sciences Division, National, Institute of Standards and Technology, Charleston, South, Carolina 29412, United States
| | - Daniel J. Becker
- Department of Biology, University of, Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73019, United States
| | - Michael G. Janech
- Hollings Marine Laboratory, Charleston, South Carolina 29412, United States; Department of, Biology, College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, 29424, United States
| | - M. Brock Fenton
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Nancy B. Simmons
- Department of Mammalogy, Division of, Vertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York 10024, United States
| | - Alison M. Bland
- Hollings Marine Laboratory, Charleston, South Carolina 29412, United States; Department of, Biology, College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, 29424, United States
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Forbes KM. Ecoimmunology at spatial scales. J Anim Ecol 2021; 89:2210-2213. [PMID: 33460080 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
IN FOCUS Becker, D. J., Albery, G. F., Kessler, M. K., Lunn, T. J., Falvo, C. A., Czirják, G. Á., Martin, L. B., & Plowright, R. K. (2020). Macroimmunology: The drivers and consequences of spatial patterns in wildlife immune defence. Journal of Animal Ecology, 89, 972-995. Ecoimmunology seeks to identify and explain natural variation in immune function. Most research so far has focused on differences among individuals within populations, which are often driven by trade-offs in resource allocation between energetically costly immunity and competing processes such as reproduction. In their review article, Becker et al. (2020) have proposed a framework to explicitly address habitat- and population-level differences in wildlife immune phenotypes. Termed macroimmunology, this concept integrates principles from ecoimmunology and macroecology. Becker et al. (2020) have highlighted three non-mutually exclusive habitat features that are likely to vary at spatial scales and influence immune function: (a) parasite pressure, (b) abiotic and biotic factors and (c) anthropogenic changes. However, a large and robust body of literature suitable for synthesis to detect macroimmunology patterns and effect sizes is not yet available. Through their systematic review and critical assessment, Becker et al. (2020) identified common problems in existing research that hinders spatial inferences, such as a need for spatial replication in study design and statistical analyses that account for spatial dependence. Overall, macroimmunology has the potential to identify and even predict spatial patterns in immune phenotypes that form the mechanistic underpinnings of important wildlife disease processes, and this review represents an important step to realizing these goals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kristian M Forbes
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Vanderwolf KJ, Campbell LJ, Goldberg TL, Blehert DS, Lorch JM. Skin fungal assemblages of bats vary based on susceptibility to white-nose syndrome. THE ISME JOURNAL 2021; 15:909-920. [PMID: 33149209 PMCID: PMC8027032 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-020-00821-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2019] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Microbial skin assemblages, including fungal communities, can influence host resistance to infectious diseases. The diversity-invasibility hypothesis predicts that high-diversity communities are less easily invaded than species-poor communities, and thus diverse microbial communities may prevent pathogens from colonizing a host. To explore the hypothesis that host fungal communities mediate resistance to infection by fungal pathogens, we investigated characteristics of bat skin fungal communities as they relate to susceptibility to the emerging disease white-nose syndrome (WNS). Using a culture-based approach, we compared skin fungal assemblage characteristics of 10 bat species that differ in susceptibility to WNS across 10 eastern U.S. states. The fungal assemblages on WNS-susceptible bat species had significantly lower alpha diversity and abundance compared to WNS-resistant species. Overall fungal assemblage structure did not vary based on WNS-susceptibility, but several yeast species were differentially abundant on WNS-resistant bat species. One yeast species inhibited Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the causative agent on WNS, in vitro under certain conditions, suggesting a possible role in host protection. Further exploration of interactions between Pd and constituents of skin fungal assemblages may prove useful for predicting susceptibility of bat populations to WNS and for developing effective mitigation strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Karen J Vanderwolf
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WIS, USA
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WIS, USA
| | - Lewis J Campbell
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WIS, USA
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WIS, USA
| | - Tony L Goldberg
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WIS, USA
| | - David S Blehert
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WIS, USA
| | - Jeffrey M Lorch
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WIS, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Abstract
The recent introduction of Pseudogymnoascus destructans (the fungal pathogen that causes white-nose syndrome in bats) from Eurasia to North America has resulted in the collapse of North American bat populations and restructured species communities. The long evolutionary history between P. destructans and bats in Eurasia makes understanding host life history essential to uncovering the ecology of P. destructans. In this Review, we combine information on pathogen and host biology to understand the patterns of P. destructans spread, seasonal transmission ecology, the pathogenesis of white-nose syndrome and the cross-scale impact from individual hosts to ecosystems. Collectively, this research highlights how early pathogen detection and quantification of host impacts has accelerated the understanding of this newly emerging infectious disease.
Collapse
|
26
|
Ohmer MEB, Costantini D, Czirják GÁ, Downs CJ, Ferguson LV, Flies A, Franklin CE, Kayigwe AN, Knutie S, Richards-Zawacki CL, Cramp RL. Applied ecoimmunology: using immunological tools to improve conservation efforts in a changing world. CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY 2021; 9:coab074. [PMID: 34512994 PMCID: PMC8422949 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coab074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Ecoimmunology is a rapidly developing field that explores how the environment shapes immune function, which in turn influences host-parasite relationships and disease outcomes. Host immune defence is a key fitness determinant because it underlies the capacity of animals to resist or tolerate potential infections. Importantly, immune function can be suppressed, depressed, reconfigured or stimulated by exposure to rapidly changing environmental drivers like temperature, pollutants and food availability. Thus, hosts may experience trade-offs resulting from altered investment in immune function under environmental stressors. As such, approaches in ecoimmunology can provide powerful tools to assist in the conservation of wildlife. Here, we provide case studies that explore the diverse ways that ecoimmunology can inform and advance conservation efforts, from understanding how Galapagos finches will fare with introduced parasites, to using methods from human oncology to design vaccines against a transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils. In addition, we discuss the future of ecoimmunology and present 10 questions that can help guide this emerging field to better inform conservation decisions and biodiversity protection. From better linking changes in immune function to disease outcomes under different environmental conditions, to understanding how individual variation contributes to disease dynamics in wild populations, there is immense potential for ecoimmunology to inform the conservation of imperilled hosts in the face of new and re-emerging pathogens, in addition to improving the detection and management of emerging potential zoonoses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michel E B Ohmer
- Living Earth Collaborative, Washington University in St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - David Costantini
- Unité Physiologie Moléculaire et Adaptation (PhyMA), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, 57 Rue Cuvier, CP32, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Gábor Á Czirják
- Department of Wildlife Diseases, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - Cynthia J Downs
- Department of Environmental Biology, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
| | - Laura V Ferguson
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Andy Flies
- Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Tasmania 7001, Australia
| | - Craig E Franklin
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Ahab N Kayigwe
- Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Tasmania 7001, Australia
| | - Sarah Knutie
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06268, USA
- Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06268, USA
| | | | - Rebecca L Cramp
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Corresponding author: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Queensland 4072, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Davy CM, Donaldson ME, Bandouchova H, Breit AM, Dorville NA, Dzal YA, Kovacova V, Kunkel EL, Martínková N, Norquay KJ, Paterson JE, Zukal J, Pikula J, Willis CK, Kyle CJ. Transcriptional host-pathogen responses of Pseudogymnoascus destructans and three species of bats with white-nose syndrome. Virulence 2020; 11:781-794. [PMID: 32552222 PMCID: PMC7549942 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2020.1768018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Revised: 03/07/2020] [Accepted: 03/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding how context (e.g., host species, environmental conditions) drives disease susceptibility is an essential goal of disease ecology. We hypothesized that in bat white-nose syndrome (WNS), species-specific host-pathogen interactions may partly explain varying disease outcomes among host species. We characterized bat and pathogen transcriptomes in paired samples of lesion-positive and lesion-negative wing tissue from bats infected with Pseudogymnoascus destructans in three parallel experiments. The first two experiments analyzed samples collected from the susceptible Nearctic Myotis lucifugus and the less-susceptible Nearctic Eptesicus fuscus, following experimental infection and hibernation in captivity under controlled conditions. The third experiment applied the same analyses to paired samples from infected, free-ranging Myotis myotis, a less susceptible, Palearctic species, following natural infection and hibernation (n = 8 sample pairs/species). Gene expression by P. destructans was similar among the three host species despite varying environmental conditions among the three experiments and was similar within each host species between saprophytic contexts (superficial growth on wings) and pathogenic contexts (growth in lesions on the same wings). In contrast, we observed qualitative variation in host response: M. lucifugus and M. myotis exhibited systemic responses to infection, while E. fuscus up-regulated a remarkably localized response. Our results suggest potential phylogenetic determinants of response to WNS and can inform further studies of context-dependent host-pathogen interactions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christina M. Davy
- Environmental and Life Sciences Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Peterborough, Canada
| | | | - Hana Bandouchova
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Ana M. Breit
- Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Nicole A.S. Dorville
- Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Yvonne A. Dzal
- Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Veronika Kovacova
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Emma L. Kunkel
- Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Natália Martínková
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Kaleigh J.O. Norquay
- Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - James E. Paterson
- Environmental and Life Sciences Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada
| | - Jan Zukal
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiri Pikula
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Craig K.R. Willis
- Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Christopher J. Kyle
- Environmental and Life Sciences Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada
- Natural Resources DNA Profiling and Forensics Centre, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
The immune response of bats differs between pre-migration and migration seasons. Sci Rep 2020; 10:17384. [PMID: 33060711 PMCID: PMC7562910 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74473-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Maintaining a competent immune system is energetically costly and thus immunity may be traded against other costly traits such as seasonal migration. Here, we tested in long-distance migratory Nathusius’ pipistrelles (Pipistrellus nathusii), if selected branches of immunity are expressed differently in response to the energy demands and oxidative stress of aerial migration. During the migration period, we observed higher baseline lymphocyte and lower neutrophil levels than during the pre-migration period, but no stronger response of cellular effectors to an antigen challenge. Baseline plasma haptoglobin, as a component of the humoral innate immunity, remained similar during both seasons, yet baseline plasma haptoglobin levels increased by a factor of 7.8 in migratory bats during an immune challenge, whereas they did not change during the pre-migration period. Oxidative stress was higher during migration than during pre-migration, yet there was no association between blood oxidative status and immune parameters, and immune challenge did not trigger any changes in oxidative stress, irrespective of season. Our findings suggest that humoral effectors of the acute phase response may play a stronger role in the first-line defense against infections for migrating bats compared to non-migrating bats. We conclude that Nathusius’ pipistrelles allocate resources differently into the branches of their immune system, most likely following current demands resulting from tight energy budgets during migration.
Collapse
|
29
|
Veselská T, Homutová K, García Fraile P, Kubátová A, Martínková N, Pikula J, Kolařík M. Comparative eco-physiology revealed extensive enzymatic curtailment, lipases production and strong conidial resilience of the bat pathogenic fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans. Sci Rep 2020; 10:16530. [PMID: 33020524 PMCID: PMC7536203 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-73619-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2019] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The genus Pseudogymnoascus encompasses soil psychrophilic fungi living also in caves. Some are opportunistic pathogens; nevertheless, they do not cause outbreaks. Pseudogymnoascus destructans is the causative agent of the white-nose syndrome, which is decimating cave-hibernating bats. We used comparative eco-physiology to contrast the enzymatic potential and conidial resilience of P. destructans with that of phylogenetically diverse cave fungi, including Pseudogymnoascus spp., dermatophytes and outdoor saprotrophs. Enzymatic potential was assessed by Biolog MicroArray and by growth on labelled substrates and conidial viability was detected by flow cytometry. Pseudogymnoascus destructans was specific by extensive losses of metabolic variability and by ability of lipid degradation. We suppose that lipases are important enzymes allowing fungal hyphae to digest and invade the skin. Pseudogymnoascus destructans prefers nitrogenous substrates occurring in bat skin and lipids. Additionally, P. destructans alkalizes growth medium, which points to another possible virulence mechanism. Temperature above 30 °C substantially decreases conidial viability of cave fungi including P. destructans. Nevertheless, survival of P. destructans conidia prolongs by the temperature regime simulating beginning of the flight season, what suggests that conidia could persist on the body surface of bats and contribute to disease spreading during bats active season.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tereza Veselská
- Laboratory of Fungal Genetics and Metabolism, Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS), Vídeňská 1083, 14220, Prague, Czech Republic
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Benátská 2, 12801, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Karolína Homutová
- Laboratory of Fungal Genetics and Metabolism, Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS), Vídeňská 1083, 14220, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Paula García Fraile
- Laboratory of Fungal Genetics and Metabolism, Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS), Vídeňská 1083, 14220, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Alena Kubátová
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Benátská 2, 12801, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Natália Martínková
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS), Květná 8, 60365, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Pikula
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Game, Fish and Bees, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Palackého třída 1946/1, 61242, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Miroslav Kolařík
- Laboratory of Fungal Genetics and Metabolism, Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS), Vídeňská 1083, 14220, Prague, Czech Republic.
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Yi X, Donner DM, Marquardt PE, Palmer JM, Jusino MA, Frair J, Lindner DL, Latch EK. Major histocompatibility complex variation is similar in little brown bats before and after white-nose syndrome outbreak. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:10031-10043. [PMID: 33005361 PMCID: PMC7520216 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Revised: 07/18/2020] [Accepted: 07/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
White-nose syndrome (WNS), caused by the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), has driven alarming declines in North American hibernating bats, such as little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus). During hibernation, infected little brown bats are able to initiate anti-Pd immune responses, indicating pathogen-mediated selection on the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes. However, such immune responses may not be protective as they interrupt torpor, elevate energy costs, and potentially lead to higher mortality rates. To assess whether WNS drives selection on MHC genes, we compared the MHC DRB gene in little brown bats pre- (Wisconsin) and post- (Michigan, New York, Vermont, and Pennsylvania) WNS (detection spanning 2014-2015). We genotyped 131 individuals and found 45 nucleotide alleles (27 amino acid alleles) indicating a maximum of 3 loci (1-5 alleles per individual). We observed high allelic admixture and a lack of genetic differentiation both among sampling sites and between pre- and post-WNS populations, indicating no signal of selection on MHC genes. However, post-WNS populations exhibited decreased allelic richness, reflecting effects from bottleneck and drift following rapid population declines. We propose that mechanisms other than adaptive immunity are more likely driving current persistence of little brown bats in affected regions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xueling Yi
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of Wisconsin‐MilwaukeeMilwaukeeWIUSA
| | - Deahn M. Donner
- Northern Research StationUSDA Forest ServiceRhinelanderWIUSA
| | | | | | - Michelle A. Jusino
- Northern Research StationUSDA Forest ServiceMadisonWIUSA
- Department of Plant PathologyUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFLUSA
| | - Jacqueline Frair
- Roosevelt Wild Life StationSUNY College of Environmental Science and ForestrySyracuseNYUSA
| | | | - Emily K. Latch
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of Wisconsin‐MilwaukeeMilwaukeeWIUSA
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Ellison AR, Uren Webster TM, Rodriguez-Barreto D, de Leaniz CG, Consuegra S, Orozco-terWengel P, Cable J. Comparative transcriptomics reveal conserved impacts of rearing density on immune response of two important aquaculture species. FISH & SHELLFISH IMMUNOLOGY 2020; 104:192-201. [PMID: 32534231 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2020.05.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2020] [Revised: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 05/15/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Infectious diseases represent an important barrier to sustainable aquaculture development. Rearing density can substantially impact fish productivity, health and welfare in aquaculture, including growth rates, behaviour and, crucially, immune activity. Given the current emphasis on aquaculture diversification, stress-related indicators broadly applicable across species are needed. Utilising an interspecific comparative transcriptomic (RNAseq) approach, we compared gill gene expression responses of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) to rearing density and Saprolegnia parasitica infection. Salmon reared at high-density showed increased expression of stress-related markers (e.g. c-fos and hsp70), and downregulation of innate immune genes. Upon pathogen challenge, only salmon reared at low density exhibited increased expression of inflammatory interleukins and lymphocyte-related genes. Tilapia immunity, in contrast, was impaired at low-density. Using overlapping gene ontology enrichment and gene ortholog analyses, we found that density-related stress similarly impacted salmon and tilapia in key immune pathways, altering the expression of genes vital to inflammatory and Th17 responses to pathogen challenge. Given the challenges posed by ectoparasites and gill diseases in fish farms, this study underscores the importance of optimal rearing densities for immunocompetence, particularly for mucosal immunity. Our comparative transcriptomics analyses identified density stress impacted immune markers common across different fish taxa, providing key molecular targets with potential for monitoring and enhancing aquaculture resilience in a wide range of farmed species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amy R Ellison
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, UK.
| | | | | | | | - Sofia Consuegra
- Biosciences Department, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK.
| | | | - Jo Cable
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Population Connectivity Predicts Vulnerability to White-Nose Syndrome in the Chilean Myotis ( Myotis chiloensis) - A Genomics Approach. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2020; 10:2117-2126. [PMID: 32327452 PMCID: PMC7263680 DOI: 10.1534/g3.119.401009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Despite its peculiar distribution, the biology of the southernmost bat species in the world, the Chilean myotis (Myotis chiloensis), has garnered little attention so far. The species has a north-south distribution of c. 2800 km, mostly on the eastern side of the Andes mountain range. Use of extended torpor occurs in the southernmost portion of the range, putting the species at risk of bat white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease responsible for massive population declines in North American bats. Here, we examined how geographic distance and topology would be reflected in the population structure of M. chiloensis along the majority of its range using a double digestion RAD-seq method. We sampled 66 individuals across the species range and discovered pronounced isolation-by-distance. Furthermore, and surprisingly, we found higher degrees of heterozygosity in the southernmost populations compared to the north. A coalescence analysis revealed that our populations may still not have reached secondary contact after the Last Glacial Maximum. As for the potential spread of pathogens, such as the fungus causing WNS, connectivity among populations was noticeably low, especially between the southern hibernatory populations in the Magallanes and Tierra del Fuego, and more northerly populations. This suggests the probability of geographic spread of the disease from the north through bat-to-bat contact to susceptible populations is low. The study presents a rare case of defined population structure in a bat species and warrants further research on the underlying factors contributing to this. See the graphical abstract here. https://doi.org/10.25387/g3.12173385
Collapse
|
33
|
Genome-Wide Changes in Genetic Diversity in a Population of Myotis lucifugus Affected by White-Nose Syndrome. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2020; 10:2007-2020. [PMID: 32276959 PMCID: PMC7263666 DOI: 10.1534/g3.119.400966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Novel pathogens can cause massive declines in populations, and even extirpation of hosts. But disease can also act as a selective pressure on survivors, driving the evolution of resistance or tolerance. Bat white-nose syndrome (WNS) is a rapidly spreading wildlife disease in North America. The fungus causing the disease invades skin tissues of hibernating bats, resulting in disruption of hibernation behavior, premature energy depletion, and subsequent death. We used whole-genome sequencing to investigate changes in allele frequencies within a population of Myotis lucifugus in eastern North America to search for genetic resistance to WNS. Our results show low FST values within the population across time, i.e., prior to WNS (Pre-WNS) compared to the population that has survived WNS (Post-WNS). However, when dividing the population with a geographical cut-off between the states of Pennsylvania and New York, a sharp increase in values on scaffold GL429776 is evident in the Post-WNS samples. Genes present in the diverged area are associated with thermoregulation and promotion of brown fat production. Thus, although WNS may not have subjected the entire M. lucifugus population to selective pressure, it may have selected for specific alleles in Pennsylvania through decreased gene flow within the population. However, the persistence of remnant sub-populations in the aftermath of WNS is likely due to multiple factors in bat life history.
Collapse
|
34
|
Hecht-Höger AM, Braun BC, Krause E, Meschede A, Krahe R, Voigt CC, Greenwood AD, Czirják GÁ. Plasma proteomic profiles differ between European and North American myotid bats colonized by Pseudogymnoascus destructans. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:1745-1755. [PMID: 32279365 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2019] [Revised: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Emerging fungal diseases have become challenges for wildlife health and conservation. North American hibernating bat species are threatened by the psychrophilic fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) causing the disease called white-nose syndrome (WNS) with unprecedented mortality rates. The fungus is widespread in North America and Europe, however, disease is not manifested in European bats. Differences in epidemiology and pathology indicate an evolution of resistance or tolerance mechanisms towards Pd in European bats. We compared the proteomic profile of blood plasma in healthy and Pd-colonized European Myotis myotis and North American Myotis lucifugus in order to identify pathophysiological changes associated with Pd colonization, which might also explain the differences in bat survival. Expression analyses of plasma proteins revealed differences in healthy and Pd-colonized M. lucifugus, but not in M. myotis. We identified differentially expressed proteins for acute phase response, constitutive and adaptive immunity, oxidative stress defence, metabolism and structural proteins of exosomes and desmosomes, suggesting a systemic response against Pd in North American M. lucifugus but not European M. myotis. The differences in plasma proteomic profiles between European and North American bat species colonized by Pd suggest European bats have evolved tolerance mechanisms towards Pd infection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Beate C Braun
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Eberhard Krause
- Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology, Berlin, Germany
| | - Angelika Meschede
- Institute of Zoology II, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | | | - Christian C Voigt
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany.,Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Alex D Greenwood
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gábor Á Czirják
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
|
36
|
Auteri GG, Knowles LL. Decimated little brown bats show potential for adaptive change. Sci Rep 2020; 10:3023. [PMID: 32080246 PMCID: PMC7033193 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-59797-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2019] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The degree to which species can rapidly adapt is key to survival in the face of climatic and other anthropogenic changes. For little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus), whose populations have experienced declines of over 90% because of the introduced fungal pathogen that causes white-nose syndrome (WNS), survival of the species may ultimately depend upon its capacity for adaptive change. Here, we present evidence of selectively driven change (adaptation), despite dramatic nonadaptive genomic shifts (genetic drift) associated with population declines. We compared the genetic makeups of wild survivors versus non-survivors of WNS, and found significant shifts in allele frequencies of genes associated with regulating arousal from hibernation (GABARB1), breakdown of fats (cGMP-PK1), and vocalizations (FOXP2). Changes at these genes are suggestive of evolutionary adaptation, given that WNS causes bats to arouse with unusual frequency from hibernation, contributing to premature depletion of fat reserves. However, whether these putatively adaptive shifts in allele frequencies translate into sufficient increases in survival for the species to rebound in the face of WNS is unknown.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giorgia G Auteri
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - L Lacey Knowles
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Bracamonte SE, Johnston PR, Monaghan MT, Knopf K. Gene expression response to a nematode parasite in novel and native eel hosts. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:13069-13084. [PMID: 31871630 PMCID: PMC6912882 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Revised: 09/19/2019] [Accepted: 09/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Invasive parasites are involved in population declines of new host species worldwide. The high susceptibilities observed in many novel hosts have been attributed to the lack of protective immunity to the parasites which native hosts acquired during their shared evolution. We experimentally infected Japanese eels (Anguilla japonica) and European eels (Anguilla anguilla) with Anguillicola crassus, a nematode parasite that is native to the Japanese eel and invasive in the European eel. We inferred gene expression changes in head kidney tissue from both species, using RNA-seq data to determine the responses at two time points during the early stages of infection (3 and 23 days postinfection). At both time points, the novel host modified the expression of a larger and functionally more diverse set of genes than the native host. Strikingly, the native host regulated immune gene expression only at the earlier time point and to a small extent while the novel host regulated these genes at both time points. A low number of differentially expressed immune genes, especially in the native host, suggest that a systemic immune response was of minor importance during the early stages of infection. Transcript abundance of genes involved in cell respiration was reduced in the novel host which may affect its ability to cope with harsh conditions and energetically demanding activities. The observed gene expression changes in response to a novel parasite that we observed in a fish follow a general pattern observed in amphibians and mammals, and suggest that the disruption of physiological processes, rather than the absence of an immediate immune response, is responsible for the higher susceptibility of the novel host.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Seraina E. Bracamonte
- Leibniz‐Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland FisheriesBerlinGermany
- Berlin Center for Genomics in Biodiversity ResearchBerlinGermany
- Faculty of Life SciencesHumboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Paul R. Johnston
- Leibniz‐Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland FisheriesBerlinGermany
- Berlin Center for Genomics in Biodiversity ResearchBerlinGermany
- Institut für BiologieFreie Universität BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Michael T. Monaghan
- Leibniz‐Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland FisheriesBerlinGermany
- Berlin Center for Genomics in Biodiversity ResearchBerlinGermany
- Institut für BiologieFreie Universität BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Klaus Knopf
- Leibniz‐Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland FisheriesBerlinGermany
- Faculty of Life SciencesHumboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Mostajo NF, Lataretu M, Krautwurst S, Mock F, Desirò D, Lamkiewicz K, Collatz M, Schoen A, Weber F, Marz M, Hölzer M. A comprehensive annotation and differential expression analysis of short and long non-coding RNAs in 16 bat genomes. NAR Genom Bioinform 2019; 2:lqz006. [PMID: 32289119 PMCID: PMC7108008 DOI: 10.1093/nargab/lqz006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2019] [Revised: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 09/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Although bats are increasingly becoming the focus of scientific studies due to their unique properties, these exceptional animals are still among the least studied mammals. Assembly quality and completeness of bat genomes vary a lot and especially non-coding RNA (ncRNA) annotations are incomplete or simply missing. Accordingly, standard bioinformatics pipelines for gene expression analysis often ignore ncRNAs such as microRNAs or long antisense RNAs. The main cause of this problem is the use of incomplete genome annotations. We present a complete screening for ncRNAs within 16 bat genomes. NcRNAs affect a remarkable variety of vital biological functions, including gene expression regulation, RNA processing, RNA interference and, as recently described, regulatory processes in viral infections. Within all investigated bat assemblies, we annotated 667 ncRNA families including 162 snoRNAs and 193 miRNAs as well as rRNAs, tRNAs, several snRNAs and lncRNAs, and other structural ncRNA elements. We validated our ncRNA candidates by six RNA-Seq data sets and show significant expression patterns that have never been described before in a bat species on such a large scale. Our annotations will be usable as a resource (rna.uni-jena.de/supplements/bats) for deeper studying of bat evolution, ncRNAs repertoire, gene expression and regulation, ecology and important host–virus interactions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nelly F Mostajo
- RNA Bioinformatics and High-Throughput Analysis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany.,Institute of Virology, Philipps-University Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Straße 2, 35043 Marburg, Germany.,European Virus Bioinformatics Center, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Marie Lataretu
- RNA Bioinformatics and High-Throughput Analysis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany.,European Virus Bioinformatics Center, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Sebastian Krautwurst
- RNA Bioinformatics and High-Throughput Analysis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany.,European Virus Bioinformatics Center, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Florian Mock
- RNA Bioinformatics and High-Throughput Analysis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany.,European Virus Bioinformatics Center, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Daniel Desirò
- RNA Bioinformatics and High-Throughput Analysis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany.,European Virus Bioinformatics Center, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Kevin Lamkiewicz
- RNA Bioinformatics and High-Throughput Analysis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany.,European Virus Bioinformatics Center, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Maximilian Collatz
- RNA Bioinformatics and High-Throughput Analysis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany.,European Virus Bioinformatics Center, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Andreas Schoen
- Institute for Virology, FB10-Veterinary Medicine, Justus-Liebig University, 35392 Gießen, Germany.,German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), partner sites 35043 Marburg and 35392 Gießen, Germany
| | - Friedemann Weber
- Institute of Virology, Philipps-University Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Straße 2, 35043 Marburg, Germany.,Institute for Virology, FB10-Veterinary Medicine, Justus-Liebig University, 35392 Gießen, Germany.,German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), partner sites 35043 Marburg and 35392 Gießen, Germany
| | - Manja Marz
- RNA Bioinformatics and High-Throughput Analysis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany.,European Virus Bioinformatics Center, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany.,FLI Leibniz Institute for Age Research, Beutenbergstraße 11, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Martin Hölzer
- RNA Bioinformatics and High-Throughput Analysis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany.,European Virus Bioinformatics Center, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Lilley TM, Prokkola JM, Blomberg AS, Paterson S, Johnson JS, Turner GG, Bartonička T, Bachorec E, Reeder DM, Field KA. Resistance is futile: RNA-sequencing reveals differing responses to bat fungal pathogen in Nearctic Myotis lucifugus and Palearctic Myotis myotis. Oecologia 2019; 191:295-309. [PMID: 31506746 PMCID: PMC6763535 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04499-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2019] [Accepted: 08/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Abstract Resistance and tolerance allow organisms to cope with potentially life-threatening pathogens. Recently introduced pathogens initially induce resistance responses, but natural selection favors the development of tolerance, allowing for a commensal relationship to evolve. Mycosis by Pseudogymnoascus destructans, causing white-nose syndrome (WNS) in Nearctic hibernating bats, has resulted in population declines since 2006. The pathogen, which spread from Europe, has infected species of Palearctic Myotis for a longer period. We compared ecologically relevant responses to the fungal infection in the susceptible Nearctic M. lucifugus and less susceptible Palearctic M. myotis, to uncover factors contributing to survival differences in the two species. Samples were collected from euthermic bats during arousal from hibernation, a naturally occurring phenomenon, during which transcriptional responses are activated. We compared the whole-transcriptome responses in wild bats infected with P. destructans hibernating in their natural habitat. Our results show dramatically different local transcriptional responses to the pathogen between uninfected and infected samples from the two species. Whereas we found 1526 significantly upregulated or downregulated transcripts in infected M. lucifugus, only one transcript was downregulated in M. myotis. The upregulated response pathways in M. lucifugus include immune cell activation and migration, and inflammatory pathways, indicative of an unsuccessful attempt to resist the infection. In contrast, M. myotis appears to tolerate P. destructans infection by not activating a transcriptional response. These host-microbe interactions determine pathology, contributing to WNS susceptibility, or commensalism, promoting tolerance to fungal colonization during hibernation that favors survival. Graphic abstract ![]()
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00442-019-04499-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas M Lilley
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
| | - Jenni M Prokkola
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | | | - Steve Paterson
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Joseph S Johnson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA
| | | | - Tomáš Bartonička
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Erik Bachorec
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
40
|
Virally-vectored vaccine candidates against white-nose syndrome induce anti-fungal immune response in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus). Sci Rep 2019; 9:6788. [PMID: 31043669 PMCID: PMC6494898 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-43210-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2018] [Accepted: 04/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
White-nose syndrome (WNS) caused by the fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) has killed millions of North American hibernating bats. Currently, methods to prevent the disease are limited. We conducted two trials to assess potential WNS vaccine candidates in wild-caught Myotis lucifugus. In a pilot study, we immunized bats with one of four vaccine treatments or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) as a control and challenged them with Pd upon transfer into hibernation chambers. Bats in one vaccine-treated group, that received raccoon poxviruses (RCN) expressing Pd calnexin (CAL) and serine protease (SP), developed WNS at a lower rate (1/10) than other treatments combined (14/23), although samples sizes were small. The results of a second similar trial provided additional support for this observation. Bats vaccinated orally or by injection with RCN-CAL and RCN-SP survived Pd challenge at a significantly higher rate (P = 0.01) than controls. Using RT-PCR and flow cytometry, combined with fluorescent in situ hybridization, we determined that expression of IFN-γ transcripts and the number of CD4 + T-helper cells transcribing this gene were elevated (P < 0.10) in stimulated lymphocytes from surviving vaccinees (n = 15) compared to controls (n = 3). We conclude that vaccination with virally-vectored Pd antigens induced antifungal immunity that could potentially protect bats against WNS.
Collapse
|
41
|
Altizer S, Becker DJ, Epstein JH, Forbes KM, Gillespie TR, Hall RJ, Hawley DM, Hernandez SM, Martin LB, Plowright RK, Satterfield DA, Streicker DG. Food for contagion: synthesis and future directions for studying host-parasite responses to resource shifts in anthropogenic environments. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019. [PMID: 29531154 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Human-provided resource subsidies for wildlife are diverse, common and have profound consequences for wildlife-pathogen interactions, as demonstrated by papers in this themed issue spanning empirical, theoretical and management perspectives from a range of study systems. Contributions cut across scales of organization, from the within-host dynamics of immune function, to population-level impacts on parasite transmission, to landscape- and regional-scale patterns of infection. In this concluding paper, we identify common threads and key findings from author contributions, including the consequences of resource subsidies for (i) host immunity; (ii) animal aggregation and contact rates; (iii) host movement and landscape-level infection patterns; and (iv) interspecific contacts and cross-species transmission. Exciting avenues for future work include studies that integrate mechanistic modelling and empirical approaches to better explore cross-scale processes, and experimental manipulations of food resources to quantify host and pathogen responses. Work is also needed to examine evolutionary responses to provisioning, and ask how diet-altered changes to the host microbiome influence infection processes. Given the massive public health and conservation implications of anthropogenic resource shifts, we end by underscoring the need for practical recommendations to manage supplemental feeding practices, limit human-wildlife conflicts over shared food resources and reduce cross-species transmission risks, including to humans.This article is part of the theme issue 'Anthropogenic resource subsidies and host-parasite dynamics in wildlife'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Altizer
- Odum School of Ecology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA .,Center for the Ecology of Infectious Disease, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Daniel J Becker
- Odum School of Ecology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.,Center for the Ecology of Infectious Disease, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA
| | | | - Kristian M Forbes
- Department of Virology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.,Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Thomas R Gillespie
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Program in Population Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.,Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Richard J Hall
- Odum School of Ecology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.,Center for the Ecology of Infectious Disease, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.,Department of Infectious Disease, College of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Dana M Hawley
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Sonia M Hernandez
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.,Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Lynn B Martin
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Raina K Plowright
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA
| | - Dara A Satterfield
- Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC 20008, USA
| | - Daniel G Streicker
- Odum School of Ecology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.,Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.,MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Martínková N, Pikula J, Zukal J, Kovacova V, Bandouchova H, Bartonička T, Botvinkin AD, Brichta J, Dundarova H, Kokurewicz T, Irwin NR, Linhart P, Orlov OL, Piacek V, Škrabánek P, Tiunov MP, Zahradníková A. Hibernation temperature-dependent Pseudogymnoascus destructans infection intensity in Palearctic bats. Virulence 2018; 9:1734-1750. [PMID: 36595968 PMCID: PMC10022473 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2018.1548685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans that is devastating to Nearctic bat populations but tolerated by Palearctic bats. Temperature is a factor known to be important for fungal growth and bat choice of hibernation. Here we investigated the effect of temperature on the pathogenic fungal growth in the wild across the Palearctic. We modelled body surface temperature of bats with respect to fungal infection intensity and disease severity and were able to relate this to the mean annual surface temperature at the site. Bats that hibernated at lower temperatures had less fungal growth and fewer skin lesions on their wings. Contrary to expectation derived from laboratory P. destructans culture experiments, natural infection intensity peaked between 5 and 6°C and decreased at warmer hibernating temperature. We made predictive maps based on bat species distributions, temperature and infection intensity and disease severity data to determine not only where P. destructans will be found but also where the infection will be invasive to bats across the Palearctic. Together these data highlight the mechanistic model of the interplay between environmental and biological factors, which determine progression in a wildlife disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Natália Martínková
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.,Institute of Biostatistics and Analyses, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiri Pikula
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Zukal
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.,Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Veronika Kovacova
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Hana Bandouchova
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Bartonička
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Alexander D Botvinkin
- Epidemiology Department, Irkutsk State Medical University, Irkutsk, Russian Federation
| | - Jiri Brichta
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Heliana Dundarova
- Department of Ecosystem Research, Environmental Risk Assessment and Conservation Biology, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Tomasz Kokurewicz
- Institute of Biology, Department of Vertebrate Ecology and Palaeontology, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland
| | | | - Petr Linhart
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Oleg L Orlov
- International Complex Research Laboratory for Study of Climate Change, Land Use and Biodiversity, Tyumen State University, Tyumen, Russian Federation.,Department of Biochemistry, Ural State Medical University, Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation
| | - Vladimir Piacek
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Škrabánek
- Department of Process Control, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, University of Pardubice, Pardubice, Czech Republic.,Institute of Automation and Computer Science, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Mikhail P Tiunov
- Institute of Biology and Soil Science, Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russian Federation
| | - Alexandra Zahradníková
- Department of Muscle Cell Research, Centre of Biosciences, Institute of Molecular Physiology and Genetics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
White-nose syndrome is associated with increased replication of a naturally persisting coronaviruses in bats. Sci Rep 2018; 8:15508. [PMID: 30341341 PMCID: PMC6195612 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-33975-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2018] [Accepted: 10/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Spillover of viruses from bats to other animals may be associated with increased contact between them, as well as increased shedding of viruses by bats. Here, we tested the prediction that little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) co-infected with the M. lucifugus coronavirus (Myl-CoV) and with Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the fungus that causes bat white-nose syndrome (WNS), exhibit different disease severity, viral shedding and molecular responses than bats infected with only Myl-CoV or only P. destructans. We took advantage of the natural persistence of Myl-CoV in bats that were experimentally inoculated with P. destructans in a previous study. Here, we show that the intestines of virus-infected bats that were also infected with fungus contained on average 60-fold more viral RNA than bats with virus alone. Increased viral RNA in the intestines correlated with the severity of fungus-related pathology. Additionally, the intestines of bats infected with fungus exhibited different expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway and cytokine related transcripts, irrespective of viral presence. Levels of coronavirus antibodies were also higher in fungal-infected bats. Our results suggest that the systemic effects of WNS may down-regulate anti-viral responses in bats persistently infected with M. lucifugus coronavirus and increase the potential of virus shedding.
Collapse
|
44
|
Mandl JN, Schneider C, Schneider DS, Baker ML. Going to Bat(s) for Studies of Disease Tolerance. Front Immunol 2018; 9:2112. [PMID: 30294323 PMCID: PMC6158362 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.02112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
A majority of viruses that have caused recent epidemics with high lethality rates in people, are zoonoses originating from wildlife. Among them are filoviruses (e.g., Marburg, Ebola), coronaviruses (e.g., SARS, MERS), henipaviruses (e.g., Hendra, Nipah) which share the common features that they are all RNA viruses, and that a dysregulated immune response is an important contributor to the tissue damage and hence pathogenicity that results from infection in humans. Intriguingly, these viruses also all originate from bat reservoirs. Bats have been shown to have a greater mean viral richness than predicted by their phylogenetic distance from humans, their geographic range, or their presence in urban areas, suggesting other traits must explain why bats harbor a greater number of zoonotic viruses than other mammals. Bats are highly unusual among mammals in other ways as well. Not only are they the only mammals capable of powered flight, they have extraordinarily long life spans, with little detectable increases in mortality or senescence until high ages. Their physiology likely impacted their history of pathogen exposure and necessitated adaptations that may have also affected immune signaling pathways. Do our life history traits make us susceptible to generating damaging immune responses to RNA viruses or does the physiology of bats make them particularly tolerant or resistant? Understanding what immune mechanisms enable bats to coexist with RNA viruses may provide critical fundamental insights into how to achieve greater resilience in humans.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Judith N. Mandl
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- McGill Research Center for Complex Traits, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Caitlin Schneider
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- McGill Research Center for Complex Traits, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - David S. Schneider
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Michelle L. Baker
- Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Health and Biosecurity Business Unit, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Beekman CN, Meckler L, Kim E, Bennett RJ. Galleria mellonella as an insect model for P. destructans, the cause of White-nose Syndrome in bats. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0201915. [PMID: 30183704 PMCID: PMC6124720 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2018] [Accepted: 07/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Pseudogymnoascus destructans is the fungal pathogen responsible for White-nose Syndrome (WNS), a disease that has killed millions of bats in North America over the last decade. A major obstacle to research on P. destructans has been the lack of a tractable infection model for monitoring virulence. Here, we establish a high-throughput model of infection using larvae of Galleria mellonella, an invertebrate used to study host-pathogen interactions for a wide range of microbial species. We demonstrate that P. destructans can kill G. mellonella larvae in an inoculum-dependent manner when infected larvae are housed at 13°C or 18°C. Larval killing is an active process, as heat-killed P. destructans spores caused significantly decreased levels of larval death compared to live spores. We also show that fungal spores that were germinated prior to inoculation were able to kill larvae 3–4 times faster than non-germinated spores. Lastly, we identified chemical inhibitors of P. destructans and used G. mellonella to evaluate these inhibitors for their ability to reduce virulence. We demonstrate that amphotericin B can effectively block larval killing by P. destructans and thereby establish that this infection model can be used to screen biocontrol agents against this fungal pathogen.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chapman N. Beekman
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Brown University, Providence, RI United States of America
| | - Lauren Meckler
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Brown University, Providence, RI United States of America
| | - Eleanor Kim
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Brown University, Providence, RI United States of America
| | - Richard J. Bennett
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Brown University, Providence, RI United States of America
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Field KA, Sewall BJ, Prokkola JM, Turner GG, Gagnon MF, Lilley TM, Paul White J, Johnson JS, Hauer CL, Reeder DM. Effect of torpor on host transcriptomic responses to a fungal pathogen in hibernating bats. Mol Ecol 2018; 27:3727-3743. [PMID: 30080945 DOI: 10.1111/mec.14827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2017] [Revised: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Hibernation, the use of prolonged torpor to depress metabolism, is employed by mammals to conserve resources during extended periods of extreme temperatures and/or resource limitation. Mammalian hibernators arouse to euthermy periodically during torpor for reasons that are not well understood, and these arousals may facilitate immune processes. To determine whether arousals enable host responses to pathogens, we used dual RNA-Seq and a paired sampling approach to examine gene expression in a hibernating bat, the little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus). During torpor, transcript levels differed in only a few genes between uninfected wing tissue and adjacent tissue infected with Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungal pathogen that causes white-nose syndrome. Within 70-80 min after emergence from torpor, large changes in gene expression were observed due to local infection, particularly in genes involved in pro-inflammatory host responses to fungal pathogens, but also in many genes involved in immune responses and metabolism. These results support the hypothesis that torpor is a period of relative immune dormancy and arousals allow for local immune responses in infected tissues during hibernation. Host-pathogen interactions were also found to regulate gene expression in the pathogen differently depending on the torpor state of the host. Hibernating species must balance the benefits of energy and water conservation achieved during torpor with the costs of decreased immune competence. Interbout arousals allow hibernators to optimize these, and other, trade-offs during prolonged hibernation by enabling host responses to pathogens within brief, periodic episodes of euthermy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth A Field
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
| | - Brent J Sewall
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Jenni M Prokkola
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
| | - Gregory G Turner
- Wildlife Diversity Division, Pennsylvania Game Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
| | - Marianne F Gagnon
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Thomas M Lilley
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
| | - J Paul White
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, Wisconsin
| | - Joseph S Johnson
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
| | | | - DeeAnn M Reeder
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Lilley TM, Anttila J, Ruokolainen L. Landscape structure and ecology influence the spread of a bat fungal disease. Funct Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas M. Lilley
- Institute of Integrative BiologyUniversity of Liverpool Liverpool UK
- Finnish Museum of Natural HistoryUniversity of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | - Jani Anttila
- Department of BiosciencesUniversity of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | | |
Collapse
|
48
|
Davy CM, Donaldson ME, Willis CKR, Saville BJ, McGuire LP, Mayberry H, Wilcox A, Wibbelt G, Misra V, Kyle CJ. Environmentally persistent pathogens present unique challenges for studies of host-pathogen interactions: Reply to Field (2018). Ecol Evol 2018; 8:5238-5241. [PMID: 29938048 PMCID: PMC6010918 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Linked article: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4034.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christina M. Davy
- Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate ProgramTrent UniversityPeterboroughONCanada
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring SectionOntario Ministry of Natural Resources and ForestryPeterboroughONCanada
| | - Michael E. Donaldson
- Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate ProgramTrent UniversityPeterboroughONCanada
| | - Craig K. R. Willis
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring SectionOntario Ministry of Natural Resources and ForestryPeterboroughONCanada
| | | | - Liam P. McGuire
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring SectionOntario Ministry of Natural Resources and ForestryPeterboroughONCanada
- Department of Biological SciencesTexas Tech UniversityLubbockTXUSA
| | - Heather Mayberry
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring SectionOntario Ministry of Natural Resources and ForestryPeterboroughONCanada
| | - Alana Wilcox
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring SectionOntario Ministry of Natural Resources and ForestryPeterboroughONCanada
| | - Gudrun Wibbelt
- Leibniz Institute of Zoo and Wildlife ResearchBerlinGermany
| | - Vikram Misra
- Department of MicrobiologyWestern College of Vet. MedicineUniversity of SaskatchewanSaskatoonSKCanada
| | | |
Collapse
|
49
|
Donaldson ME, Davy CM, Vanderwolf KJ, Willis CKR, Saville BJ, Kyle CJ. Growth medium and incubation temperature alter the Pseudogymnoascus destructans transcriptome: implications in identifying virulence factors. Mycologia 2018; 110:300-315. [PMID: 29737946 DOI: 10.1080/00275514.2018.1438223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Pseudogymnoascus destructans is the causal agent of bat white-nose syndrome (WNS), which is devastating some North American bat populations. Previous transcriptome studies provided insight regarding the molecular mechanisms involved in WNS; however, it is unclear how different environmental parameters could influence pathogenicity. This information could be useful in developing management strategies to mitigate the negative impacts of P. destructans on bats. We cultured three P. destructans isolates from Atlantic Canada on two growth media (potato dextrose agar and Sabouraud dextrose agar) that differ in their nitrogen source, and at two separate incubation temperatures (4 C and 15 C) that approximate the temperature range of bat hibernacula during the winter and a temperature within its optimal mycelial growth range. We conducted RNA sequencing to determine transcript levels in each sample and performed differential gene expression (DGE) analyses to test the influence of growth medium and incubation temperature on gene expression. We also compared our in vitro results with previous RNA-sequencing data sets generated from P. destructans growing on the wings of a susceptible host, Myotis lucifugus. Our findings point to a critical role for substrate and incubation temperature in influencing the P. destructans transcriptome. DGE analyses suggested that growth medium plays a larger role than temperature in determining P. destructans gene expression and that although the psychrophilic fungus responds to different nitrogen sources, it may have evolved for continued growth at a broad range of low temperatures. Further, our data suggest that down-regulation of the RNA-interference pathway and increased fatty acid metabolism are involved in the P. destructans-bat interaction. Finally, we speculate that to reduce the activation of host defense responses, P. destructans minimizes changes in the expression of genes encoding secreted proteins during bat colonization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael E Donaldson
- a Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program , Trent University , 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough , Ontario , K9L 1Z8, Canada
| | - Christina M Davy
- a Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program , Trent University , 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough , Ontario , K9L 1Z8, Canada.,b Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section , Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry , 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough , Ontario , K9L 1Z8, Canada
| | - Karen J Vanderwolf
- c New Brunswick Museum , 277 Douglas Avenue, Saint John , New Brunswick , E2K 1E5, Canada.,d Department of Pathobiological Sciences , University of Wisconsin-Madison , 2015 Linden Drive, Madison , Wisconsin 53706
| | - Craig K R Willis
- e Department of Biology , University of Winnipeg , 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg , Manitoba , R3B 2E9, Canada
| | - Barry J Saville
- a Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program , Trent University , 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough , Ontario , K9L 1Z8, Canada.,f Forensic Science Department , Trent University , 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough , Ontario, K9L 1Z8 , Canada
| | - Christopher J Kyle
- a Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program , Trent University , 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough , Ontario , K9L 1Z8, Canada.,f Forensic Science Department , Trent University , 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough , Ontario, K9L 1Z8 , Canada
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Field KA. Quantification of pathogen levels is necessary to compare responses to pathogen exposure: Comment on Davy et al. "The other white-nose syndrome transcriptome". Ecol Evol 2018; 8:5235-5237. [PMID: 29938047 PMCID: PMC6010789 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
When studying host responses to the presence of pathogens, the pathogen levels should be verified within the samples. The RNA‐Seq samples from Davy et al. (2017) do not contain detectable Pseudogymnoascus destructans pathogen levels compared to other studies. Future studies will be necessary to determine how hosts resistant to white‐nose syndrome respond differently than susceptible hosts at the whole‐transcriptome level.
![]() Linked Article: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4035
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth A Field
- Department of Biology Bucknell University Lewisburg Pennsylvania
| |
Collapse
|