Data from: Energy conserving thermoregulatory patterns and lower disease severity in a bat resistant to the impacts of white-nose syndrome

The devastating bat fungal disease, white-nose syndrome (WNS), does not appear to affect all species equally. To experimentally determine susceptibility differences between species, we exposed hibernating naïve little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) and big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) to the fungus that causes WNS, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). After hibernating under identical conditions, Pd lesions were significantly more prevalent and more severe in little brown myotis. This species difference in pathology correlates with susceptibility to WNS in the wild and suggests that survival is related to different host physiological responses. We observed another fungal infection, associated with neutrophilic inflammation, that was equally present in all bats. This suggests that both species are capable of generating a response to cold tolerant fungi and that Pd may have evolved mechanisms for evading host responses that are effective in at least some bat species. These host–pathogen interactions are likely mediated not just by host physiological responses, but also by host behavior. Pd-exposed big brown bats, the less affected species, spent more time in torpor than did control animals, while little brown myotis did not exhibit this change. This differential thermoregulatory response to Pd infection by big brown bat hosts may allow for a more effective (or less pathological) immune response to tissue invasion.

极具破坏性的蝙蝠真菌病害——白鼻综合征（white-nose syndrome, WNS），对不同蝙蝠物种的致病程度并不均等。为通过实验明确不同物种间的易感性差异，我们将处于冬眠状态的未致敏小棕蝠（little brown myotis, Myotis lucifugus）与大棕蝠（big brown bats, Eptesicus fuscus）暴露于引发WNS的真菌——破坏性假裸囊菌（Pseudogymnoascus destructans, Pd）中。在完全一致的冬眠条件下完成冬眠后，小棕蝠体内的Pd病灶检出率显著更高、病变程度也更为严重。这种病理学层面的物种差异，与野外环境中WNS的易感性差异相互契合，提示宿主的存活能力与不同的宿主生理应答机制相关。我们还观察到另一种与嗜中性粒细胞炎症相关的真菌感染，该感染在所有受试蝙蝠中均呈均匀分布。这表明两种蝙蝠均具备对耐寒真菌产生免疫应答的能力，而Pd或许进化出了可在至少部分蝙蝠物种中规避宿主免疫应答的机制。此类宿主-病原体互作过程，大概率不仅由宿主生理应答介导，还会受到宿主行为的调控。相较于对照组，暴露于Pd的大棕蝠（受影响较轻的物种）的蛰伏时长显著更长；而小棕蝠则未出现此类体温调节行为的改变。大棕蝠宿主针对Pd感染产生的差异化体温调节应答，或可使其对组织入侵产生更为高效（或病理损伤更为轻微）的免疫应答。