FLICKR, CUCU REMUS Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes white nose syndrome—an emerging disease that has killed several millions of hibernating bats in North America—can be destroyed by ultraviolet (UV) light, according to a study published this week (January 2) in Nature Communications.
The fungus kills by spreading on the snouts, faces, and wings of hibernating bats during the winter, causing irritation that wakes them when they should be sleeping. This ultimately causes them to die of exhaustion.
The new study demonstrates that a few seconds’ exposure to a UV light source destroyed most of the fungi. When the researchers took a closer look at the genome of P. destructans, they found that it lacked a key enzyme required for DNA repair, which is what makes it so sensitive to light, National Geographic reports.
“[The fungus is] something that has evolved for millions of years in the dark,” study coauthor Daniel Lindner, a researcher for the US Forest Service, tells The Washington Post. “Its ability to repair damage ...
