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Title: The Mycobiome of Bats in the American Southwest Is Structured by Geography, Bat Species, and Behavior
Bats are widespread mammals that play key roles in ecosystems as pollinators and insectivores. However, there is a paucity of information about bat-associated microbes, in particular their fungal communities, despite the important role microbes play in host health and overall host function. The emerging fungal disease, white-nose syndrome, presents a potential challenge to the bat microbiome and understanding healthy bat-associated taxa will provide valuable information about potential microbiome-pathogen interactions. To address this knowledge gap, we collected 174 bat fur/skin swabs from 14 species of bats captured in five locations in New Mexico and Arizona and used high-throughput sequencing of the fungal internal transcribed (ITS) region to characterize bat-associated fungal communities. Our results revealed a highly heterogeneous bat mycobiome that was structured by geography and bat species. Furthermore, our data suggest that bat-associated fungal communities are affected by bat foraging, indicating the bat skin microbiota is dynamic on short time scales. Finally, despite the strong effects of site and species, we found widespread and abundant taxa from several taxonomic groups including  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1845634
PAR ID:
10531705
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Microbial Ecology
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Microbial Ecology
Volume:
86
Issue:
3
ISSN:
0095-3628
Page Range / eLocation ID:
1565 to 1574
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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