Microbial skin assemblages, including fungal communities, can influence host resistance to infectious diseases. The diversity-invasibility hypothesis predicts that high-diversity communities are less easily invaded than species-poor communities, and thus diverse microbial communities may prevent pathogens from colonizing a host. To explore the hypothesis that host fungal communities mediate resistance to infection by fungal pathogens, we investigated characteristics of bat skin fungal communities as they relate to susceptibility to the emerging disease white-nose syndrome (WNS). Using a culture-based approach, we compared skin fungal assemblage characteristics of 10 bat species that differ in susceptibility to WNS across 10 eastern U.S. states. The fungal assemblages on WNS-susceptible bat species had significantly lower alpha diversity and abundance compared to WNS-resistant species. Overall fungal assemblage structure did not vary based on WNS-susceptibility, but several yeast species were differentially abundant on WNS-resistant bat species. One yeast species inhibited Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the causative agent on WNS, in vitro under certain conditions, suggesting a possible role in host protection. Further exploration of interactions between Pd and constituents of skin fungal assemblages may prove useful for predicting susceptibility of bat populations to WNS and for developing effective mitigation strategies.

微生物皮肤组合，包括真菌群落，可以影响宿主对传染病的抵抗力。多样性入侵假说预测，高度多样性的群落比物种贫乏的群落更不容易被入侵，因此多样化的微生物群落可能会阻止病原体在宿主中定殖。为了探索宿主真菌群落介导对真菌病原体感染的抵抗力的假设，我们研究了蝙蝠皮肤真菌群落的特征，因为它们与新出现的疾病白鼻综合症（WNS）的易感性有关。我们采用基于培养的方法，比较了美国东部 10 个州对 WNS 易感性不同的 10 种蝙蝠的皮肤真菌组合特征。与 WNS 抗性物种相比，WNS 易感蝙蝠物种的真菌组合具有显着较低的 α 多样性和丰度。总体真菌组合结构并不因 WNS 敏感性而变化，但几种酵母物种在 WNS 抗性蝙蝠物种上的丰度存在差异。在体外某些条件下，一种酵母可以抑制破坏性假裸囊菌( Pd )（WNS 的病原体），这表明其可能在宿主保护中发挥作用。进一步探索Pd和皮肤真菌组合成分之间的相互作用可能有助于预测蝙蝠种群对 WNS 的敏感性并制定有效的缓解策略。