Mar. 13,
2013 — Even after researchers studying White Nose Syndrome (WNS)
established that a fungus called Geomyces destructans is at the heart
of the devastating disease, detecting it depended largely on finding dead or
dying bats.
This month,
the journal Mycologia will publish research by a team of U.S. Forest
Service scientists and partners identifying additional species
of Geomyces and describing development of a highly sensitive
DNA-based technique for early identification of Geomyces
destructans on bats as well as in soils and on cave walls.
"The
significance of the Forest Service's recent research will have an immediate and
direct benefit to WNS response at a national scale," according to Katie
Gillies, imperiled species coordinator at Bat Conservation International.
"This will allow managers to sample soil and substrates to test for the
presence of Geomyces destructans, freeing up limited surveillance funds and
time. Additionally, this opens the door to examine the use of gene silencing as
a control mechanism for this devastating fungus. Research like this, that
directly benefits resource managers and guides us to controlling this fungus,
is critically needed."
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!