Now a recent study in the journal Science offers a glimmer of hope to bat-fans everywhere: Despite the destructiveness implied by its name, P. destrucatans is actually less destructive than previously believed. The mechanisms through which it ravages bats, once mysterious, are now comprehensible.
The fungus infects bats through the epithelial cells of their skin without significantly damaging the cells themselves, the study finds. In addition to making the fungus easier to fight, this discovery helps explain some of the symptoms that it causes in infected bats. By not destroying the skin cells after infecting them, the bats only experience a limited immune response to the deadly pathogen. While their immune systems keep the fungus at bay when the bat is active, the fungus gains the upper hand once the bats enter their state of torpor. Their body temperatures drop, and the fungus finds many ways of adapting and completely infecting the bats' skin cells.
