Meeting Abstract
White-nose Syndrome is caused by cutaneous infection with the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). It produces high hibernation mortality in 4 bats: Myotis lucifugus, M. septentrionalis, M. sodalis, and Perimyotis subflavus, but not in Eptesicus fuscus. The epidermis of E. fuscus contains 3 free fatty acids (FFAs) that greatly inhibit the growth of Pd: palmitoleic (16:1), oleic (18:1), and linoleic (18:2) acids. The epidermal lipids of bats also contain wax esters, monoacyl-, and triacylglycerols. We therefore predicted that: 1) epidermal monoacyl- and triacylglycerols containing these fatty acids reduce Pd growth, and, 2) epidermal wax esters containing these fatty acids also inhibit Pd growth. Laboratory culture experiments with Pd maintained on media varying in lipid composition were conducted. We observed that triacylglycerols have no effect on Pd growth, but 1-oleoglycerol greatly reduced Pd growth. We also found that wax esters containing 18:1, 16:1, and 18:2 all profoundly inhibit Pd growth more than the corresponding FFAs. Multiple epidermal lipids classes therefore influence the susceptibility of bat species/populations to infection with Pd.
