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Fungal pathogens have become an increasingly important topic in recent decades. Yet whilst various cankers and blights have gained attention in temperate woodlands and crops, the scope for fungal pathogens of animals and their potential threat has received far less attention. With a shifting climate, the threat from fungal pathogens is predicted to increase in the future, thus understanding the spread of fungi over landscapes as well as taxa that may be at risk is of particular importance. Cave ecosystems provide potential refugia for various fungi, and roosts for bats. With their well vascularized wings and wide-ranging distributions, bats present potential fungal vectors. Furthermore, whilst bat immune systems are generally robust to bacterial and viral pathogens, they can be susceptible to fungal pathogens, particularly during periods of stress such as hibernation. Here we explore why bats are important and interesting vectors for fungi across landscapes and discuss knowledge gaps that require further research.

Virulent infectious fungal diseases, in natural and managed landscapes, are increasing. Fungal diseases in humans, animals and plants have caused die-off and extinction events and have become a threat to food security. A caving expedition in Yunnan Province, China, revealed two bat carcasses covered in fungal mycelia. Eleven fungal isolates were obtained from these bat carcasses, and morphological observations and multigene phylogenetic analyses revealed they were Fusarium incarnatum, Mucor hiemalis and Trichoderma harzianum and four new species, Mortierella rhinolophicola, M. multispora, M. yunnanensis and Neocosmospora pallidimors. One of the more alarming findings is that a number of infections related to Neocosmospora, previously associated with human and animal mycotoxicoses, are reported to be increasing, and here we present a new species from this genus, isolated from dead bats. Due to the ecosystem services provided by bats, and the close relationship between bats and humans, future research should focus on the impacts and significance of N. pallidimors to human and animal health, examining its pathogenicity and secondary metabolites. Taxonomic descriptions, color images of the habitat, in situ samples, microstructures and cultures are presented. SEM photographs of microstructures and phylogenetic trees showing the placement of new and known species are also provided.

Road construction and strip mining in mountainous regions inevitably causes the destruction of vegetation and soil, leading to large ranges of exposed slopes. Although soil spray-sowing has become a promising method to accelerate community assembly in humid regions, the application of microbial fertilizers and shading in slope recovery during soil spray-sowing are rarely reported in dry-hot valleys. This study compared the effectiveness among artificial seeding, arch column + planting bags, and soil spray-sowing by slope restoration trials in the Yuanjiang dry-hot valley, southwest China. Additionally, we explored the effect of slope degrees, shade, and microbial fertilizers on seedling survival and growth after soil spray-sowing. Results indicated that soil spray-sowing displayed better species survival and growth performance than artificial seeding and arch column + planting bags. The richness, density, and height of seedlings dropped dramatically with the increasing of slope degrees after soil spray-sowing, especially when the slope degree was greater than 1. Although shading observably improved the species density, it inhibited the growth of Albizia julibrissin and Crotalaria pallida. Moreover, microbial fertilizers Penicillium chrysogenum and Bacillus aryabhattai markedly enhanced the density and growth of species Azadirachta Indica, Cajanus cajan, Indigofera cassioides, and Sophora xanthanth. Soil spray-sowing, combined with shading and microbial fertilizers, contributes to species survival and growth when the slope degree is less than 1.73 and the soil spray-sowing process coincides with the rainy season, which provides the theoretical basis and technical support for ecological restoration in the dry-hot river valley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]