Bat White-Nose Syndrome: An Emerging Fungal Pathogen? Blehert, David S; Hicks, Alan C; Behr, Melissa ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
01/2009, Letnik:
323, Številka:
5911
Journal Article
Recenzirano
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a condition associated with an unprecedented bat mortality event in the northeastern United States. Since the winter of 2006*2007, bat declines exceeding 75% have been ...observed at surveyed hibernacula. Affected bats often present with visually striking white fungal growth on their muzzles, ears, and/or wing membranes. Direct microscopy and culture analyses demonstrated that the skin of WNS-affected bats is colonized by a psychro-philic fungus that is phylogenetically related to Geomyces spp. but with a conidial morphology distinct from characterized members of this genus. This report characterizes the cutaneous fungal infection associated with WNS.
Birds are highly susceptible to aspergillosis, which can manifest as a primary infection in both domestic and wild birds. Aspergillosis in wild birds causes mortalities ranging in scale from single ...animals to large-scale epizootic events. However, pathogenicity factors associated with aspergillosis in wild birds have not been examined. Specifically, it is unknown whether wild bird-infecting strains are host-adapted (i.e. phylogenetically related). Similarly, it is unknown whether epizootics are driven by contact with clonal strains that possess unique pathogenic or virulence properties, or by distinct and equally pathogenic strains. Here, we use a diverse collection of Aspergillus fumigatus isolates taken from aspergillosis-associated avian carcasses, representing 24 bird species from a wide geographic range, and representing individual bird mortalities as well as epizootic events. These isolates were sequenced and analyzed along with 130 phylogenetically diverse human clinical isolates to investigate the genetic diversity and phylogenetic placement of avian-associated A. fumigatus, the geographic and host distribution of avian isolates, evidence for clonal outbreaks among wild birds, and the frequency of azole resistance in avian isolates. We found that avian isolates were phylogenetically diverse, with no clear distinction from human clinical isolates, and no sign of host or geographic specificity. Avian isolates from the same epizootic events were diverse and phylogenetically distant, suggesting that avian aspergillosis is not contagious among wild birds and that outbreaks are likely driven by environmental spore loads or host comorbidities. Finally, all avian isolates were susceptible to Voriconazole and none contained the canonical azole resistance gene variants.
Exclusive and kinematically complete high-statistics measurements of the basic double-pionic fusion reactions pn→dπ0π0, pn→dπ+π− and pp→dπ+π0 have been carried out simultaneously over the energy ...region of the ABC effect using the WASA detector setup at COSY. Whereas the isoscalar reaction part given by the dπ0π0 channel exhibits the ABC effect, i.e. a low-mass enhancement in the ππ-invariant mass distribution, as well as the associated resonance structure in the total cross section, the isovector part given by the dπ+π0 channel shows a smooth behavior consistent with the conventional t-channel ΔΔ process. The dπ+π− data are very well reproduced by combining the data for isovector and isoscalar contributions, if the kinematical consequences of the isospin violation due to different masses for charged and neutral pions are taken into account.
The presently world largest data sample for π0→γe+e− decays studies containing nearly 5×105 events was collected using the WASA detector at COSY. A search for a dark photon U produced in the ...π0→γU→γe+e− decay from the pp→ppπ0 reaction was carried out. An upper limit on the square of the U−γ mixing strength parameter ϵ2 of 5×10−6 at 90% CL was obtained for the mass range 20 MeV<MU<100 MeV. This result together with other recent experimental limits significantly reduces the MUvs. ϵ2 parameter space which could explain the presently seen deviation between the Standard Model prediction and the direct measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon.
Tests of the T, CP and CPT symmetries in the neutral kaon system are performed by the direct comparison of the probabilities of a kaon transition process to its symmetry-conjugate. The exchange of in ...and out states required for a genuine test involving an antiunitary transformation implied by time-reversal is implemented exploiting the entanglement of K0K‾0 pairs produced at a ϕ-factory.
A data sample collected by the KLOE experiment at DAΦNE corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 1.7 fb−1 is analysed to study the Δt distributions of the ϕ→KSKL→π+π−π±e∓ν and ϕ→KSKL→π±e∓ν3π0 processes, with Δt the difference of the kaon decay times. A comparison of the measured Δt distributions in the asymptotic region Δt≫τS allows to test for the first time T and CPT symmetries in kaon transitions with a precision of few percent, and to observe CP violation with this novel method.
Exclusive measurements of the quasi-free pn→ppπ− and pp→ppπ0 reactions have been performed by means of pd collisions at Tp=1.2 GeV using the WASA detector setup at COSY. Total and differential cross ...sections have been obtained covering the energy region Tp=0.95–1.3 GeV (s=2.3–2.46 GeV), which includes the regions of Δ(1232), N⁎(1440) and d⁎(2380) resonance excitations. From these measurements the isoscalar single-pion production has been extracted, for which data existed so far only below Tp=1 GeV. We observe a substantial increase of this cross section around 1 GeV, which can be related to the Roper resonance N⁎(1440), the strength of which shows up isolated from the Δ resonance in the isoscalar (Nπ)I=0 invariant-mass spectrum. No evidence for a decay of the dibaryon resonance d⁎(2380) into the isoscalar (NNπ)I=0 channel is found. An upper limit of 180 μb (90% C.L.) corresponding to a branching ratio of 9% has been deduced.
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