A Palearctic view of a bat fungal disease.

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.

Bat white-nose disease fungus diversity in time and space.

White-nose disease (WND), caused by the psychrophilic fungus , represents one of the greatest threats for North American hibernating bats. Research on molecular data has significantly advanced our knowledge of various aspects of the disease, yet more studies are needed regarding patterns of genetic diversity distribution. In the present study, we investigate three sites within the native range of the fungus in detail: two natural hibernacula (karst caves) in Bulgaria, south-eastern Europe and one artificial hibernaculum (disused cellar) in Germany, northern Europe, where we conducted intensive surveys between 2014 and 2019.

Karyotypic stasis and swarming influenced the evolution of viral tolerance in a species-rich bat radiation.

The emergence of COVID-19 and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has prioritized understanding bats' viral tolerance. Myotis bats are exceptionally species rich and have evolved viral tolerance. They also exhibit swarming, a cryptic behavior where large, multi-species assemblages gather for mating, which has been hypothesized to promote interspecific hybridization.

Comparative Genome Microsynteny Illuminates the Fast Evolution of Nuclear Mitochondrial Segments (NUMTs) in Mammals.

The escape of DNA from mitochondria into the nuclear genome (nuclear mitochondrial DNA, NUMT) is an ongoing process. Although pervasively observed in eukaryotic genomes, their evolutionary trajectories in a mammal-wide context are poorly understood. The main challenge lies in the orthology assignment of NUMTs across species due to their fast evolution and chromosomal rearrangements over the past 200 million years.

Robust evidence for bats as reservoir hosts is lacking in most African virus studies: a review and call to optimize sampling and conserve bats.

Africa experiences frequent emerging disease outbreaks among humans, with bats often proposed as zoonotic pathogen hosts. We comprehensively reviewed virus-bat findings from papers published between 1978 and 2020 to evaluate the evidence that African bats are reservoir and/or bridging hosts for viruses that cause human disease. We present data from 162 papers (of 1322) with original findings on (1) numbers and species of bats sampled across bat families and the continent, (2) how bats were selected for study inclusion, (3) if bats were terminally sampled, (4) what types of ecological data, if any, were recorded and (5) which viruses were detected and with what methodology.

Development and Application of Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) Assays for Rapid Diagnosis of the Bat White-Nose Disease Fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans.

Pseudogymnoascus destructans (= Geomyces destructans) is a psychrophilic filamentous fungus that causes White-Nose Disease (WND; the disease associated with White-Nose Syndrome, WNS) in hibernating bats. The disease has caused considerable reductions in bat populations in the USA and Canada since 2006. Identification and detection of the pathogen in pure cultures and environmental samples is routinely based on qPCR or PCR after DNA isolation and purification.

Contrasting patterns from two invasion fronts suggest a niche shift of an invasive predator of native bees.

Background: The accuracy of predictions of invasive species ranges is dependent on niche similarity between invasive and native populations and on our ability to identify the niche characteristics. With this work we aimed to compare the niche dynamics of two genetically related invasive populations of (an effective predator of honeybees and wild pollinators), in two distinct climatic regions, one in central Europe and another one in the north-western Iberian Peninsula, and hence to identify uninvaded regions susceptible to invasion.

Methods: Niche dynamics and shifts of were assessed by comparing the environmental niches of the native and of the two invasive populations, using climatic, topographic and land use variables.

Population genetics as a tool to elucidate pathogen reservoirs: Lessons from Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of White-Nose disease in bats.

Emerging infectious diseases pose a major threat to human, animal, and plant health. The risk of species-extinctions increases when pathogens can survive in the absence of the host. Environmental reservoirs can facilitate this.

Genetic diversity in a long-lived mammal is explained by the past's demographic shadow and current connectivity.

Within-species genetic diversity is crucial for the persistence and integrity of populations and ecosystems. Conservation actions require an understanding of factors influencing genetic diversity, especially in the context of global change. Both population size and connectivity are factors greatly influencing genetic diversity; the relative importance of these factors can, however, change through time.

Heterothermy and antifungal responses in bats.

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.

Determinants of defence strategies of a hibernating European bat species towards the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans.

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.

Timescale and colony-dependent relationships between environmental conditions and plasma oxidative markers in a long-lived bat species.

To increase the applicability and success of physiological approaches in conservation plans, conservation physiology should be based on ecologically relevant relationships between physiological markers and environmental variation that can only be obtained from wild populations. Given their integrative and multifaceted aspects, markers of oxidative status have recently been considered in conservation physiology, but still need to be validated across environmental conditions and locations. Here, we examined whether inter-annual variation in two oxidative markers, plasma antioxidant capacity and plasma hydroperoxides, followed inter-annual variation in temperature anomalies and associated vegetation changes in four colonies of long-lived greater mouse-eared bats () monitored over five consecutive years.

Six reference-quality genomes reveal evolution of bat adaptations.

Bats possess extraordinary adaptations, including flight, echolocation, extreme longevity and unique immunity. High-quality genomes are crucial for understanding the molecular basis and evolution of these traits. Here we incorporated long-read sequencing and state-of-the-art scaffolding protocols to generate, to our knowledge, the first reference-quality genomes of six bat species (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rousettus aegyptiacus, Phyllostomus discolor, Myotis myotis, Pipistrellus kuhlii and Molossus molossus).

Seasonal patterns of germination indicate host-pathogen coevolution.

Emerging infectious diseases rank among the most important threats to human and wildlife health. A comprehensive understanding of the mode of infection and presence of potential reservoirs is critical for the development of effective counter strategies. Fungal pathogens can remain viable in environmental reservoirs for extended periods of time before infecting susceptible individuals.

Drivers of longitudinal telomere dynamics in a long-lived bat species, Myotis myotis.

Age-related telomere shortening is considered a hallmark of the ageing process. However, a recent cross-sectional ageing study of relative telomere length (rTL) in bats failed to detect a relationship between rTL and age in the long-lived genus Myotis (M. myotis and M.

Range expansion is associated with increased survival and fecundity in a long-lived bat species.

The speed and dynamics of range expansions shape species distributions and community composition. Despite the critical impact of population growth rates for range expansion, they are neglected in existing empirical studies, which focus on the investigation of selected life-history traits. Here, we present an approach based on non-invasive genetic capture-mark-recapture data for the estimation of adult survival, fecundity and juvenile survival, which determine population growth.

Longitudinal comparative transcriptomics reveals unique mechanisms underlying extended healthspan in bats.

Bats are the longest-lived mammals, given their body size. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of their extended healthspans are poorly understood. To address this question we carried out an eight-year longitudinal study of ageing in long-lived bats (Myotis myotis).

Phenotypic plasticity closely linked to climate at origin and resulting in increased mortality under warming and frost stress in a common grass.

Phenotypic plasticity is important for species responses to global change and species coexistence. Phenotypic plasticity differs among species and traits and changes across environments. Here, we investigated phenotypic plasticity of the widespread grass in response to winter warming and frost stress by comparing phenotypic plasticity of 11 geographically and environmentally distinct populations of this species to phenotypic plasticity of populations of different species originating from a single environment.

Population level mitogenomics of long-lived bats reveals dynamic heteroplasmy and challenges the Free Radical Theory of Ageing.

Bats are the only mammals capable of true, powered flight, which drives an extremely high metabolic rate. The "Free Radical Theory of Ageing" (FTRA) posits that a high metabolic rate causes mitochondrial heteroplasmy and the progressive ageing phenotype. Contrary to this, bats are the longest-lived order of mammals given their small size and high metabolic rate.

Using Approximate Bayesian Computation to infer sex ratios from acoustic data.

Population sex ratios are of high ecological relevance, but are challenging to determine in species lacking conspicuous external cues indicating their sex. Acoustic sexing is an option if vocalizations differ between sexes, but is precluded by overlapping distributions of the values of male and female vocalizations in many species. A method allowing the inference of sex ratios despite such an overlap will therefore greatly increase the information extractable from acoustic data.