Comparison of the White-Nose Syndrome Agent Pseudogymnoascus destructans to Cave-Dwelling Relatives Suggests Reduced Saprotrophic Enzyme Activity.docVIP

ComparisonoftheWhite-NoseSyndromeAgent Pseudogymnoascus destructans toCave-Dwelling RelativesSuggestsReducedSaprotrophicEnzyme Activity HannahT.Reynolds*,HazelA.Barton DepartmentofBiology,UniversityofAkron,Akron,Ohio,UnitedStatesofAmerica Abstract White-noseSyndrome(WNS)isanemerginginfectiousmycosisthathasimpactedmultiplespeciesofNorthAmericanbats since its initial discovery in 2006, yet the physiology of the causal agent, the psychrophilic fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (=Geomyces destructans), is not well understood. We investigated the ability of P. destructans to secrete enzymes t