McMaster: Western Canada Bat Fungus More Widespread
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- McMaster University researchers detected Pseudogymnoascus destructans in all 9 bat samples from Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan using metagenomic sequencing, while standard qPCR testing identified the fungus in only 4 of those samples — including several previously reported as inconclusive or negative.
- Pseudogymnoascus destructans likely arrived in Alberta as early as 2015, according to the genomic analysis — several years before its first official detection in 2022 and public reporting in 2023, suggesting the pathogen spread quietly for years.
- The fungal strains found in western Canada show significant genetic variation, indicating the pathogen likely entered the region through multiple pathways and has evolved rapidly since introduction, the team reports.
- The research, published in the Journal of Fungi, confirms North American Pd strains likely originated in Europe, consistent with earlier work tracing the pathogen's spread after introduction.
- McMaster's team is collaborating with government agencies and conservation organizations on field trials of a probiotic treatment applied to bat boxes in western North America, with effectiveness varying by local fungal strain genetics.
- White-nose syndrome has killed millions of bats across North America since first detected in New York in 2006, with some regional populations declining by more than 90% — and western Canada is home to the country's highest bat diversity.
Why it matters: Standard qPCR surveillance missed the fungus in more than half the samples McMaster tested, meaning white-nose syndrome — which has cut some regional bat populations by more than 90% — is likely more widespread than official maps show. That detection gap matters for conservation planning and for agriculture in Alberta, where bats control insect pests.
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