White-nose syndrome is an emergent wildlife disease that has killed millions of North American bats. It is caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans, a cold-loving, invasive fungal pathogen that grows on bat tissues and disrupts normal hibernation patterns. Previous work identified trans-2-hexenal as a fungistatic volatile compound that potentially could be used as a fumigant against P. destructans in bat hibernacula. To determine the physiological responses of the fungus to trans-2-hexenal exposure, we characterized the P. destructans transcriptome in the presence and absence of trans-2-hexenal. Specifically, we analyzed the effects of sublethal concentrations (5 μmol/L, 10 μmol/L, and 20 μmol/L) of gas-phase trans-2-hexenal of the fungus grown in liquid culture. Among the three treatments, a total of 407 unique differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, of which 74 were commonly affected across all three treatments, with 44 upregulated and 30 downregulated. Downregulated DEGs included several probable virulence genes including those coding for a high-affinity iron permease, a superoxide dismutase, and two protein-degrading enzymes. There was an accompanying upregulation of an ion homeostasis gene, as well as several genes involved in transcription, translation, and other essential cellular processes. These data provide insights into the mechanisms of action of trans-2-hexenal as an anti-fungal fumigant that is active at cold temperatures and will guide future studies on the molecular mechanisms by which six carbon volatiles inhibit growth of P. destructans and other pathogenic fungi.

中文翻译：

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Trans-2-hexenal 下调破坏拟裸子囊菌（蝙蝠白鼻综合症的病原体）的几个致病基因

白鼻综合症是一种新出现的野生动物疾病，已导致数百万北美蝙蝠死亡。它是由破坏性假裸囊菌引起的，这是一种喜冷的侵袭性真菌病原体，生长在蝙蝠组织上并破坏正常的冬眠模式。之前的研究发现反式-2-己烯醛是一种抑制真菌的挥发性化合物，有可能用作针对冬眠蝙蝠中的 P. destructans 的熏蒸剂。为了确定真菌对反式 2-己烯醛暴露的生理反应，我们对存在和不存在反式 2-己烯醛的情况下的 P. destructans 转录组进行了表征。具体来说，我们分析了气相反式2-己烯醛的亚致死浓度（5μmol/L、10μmol/L和20μmol/L）对液体培养真菌的影响。在三种处理中，总共鉴定出 407 个独特的差异表达基因 (DEG)，其中 74 个在所有三种处理中均受到共同影响，其中 44 个上调，30 个下调。下调的 DEG 包括几个可能的毒力基因，包括编码高亲和力铁渗透酶、超氧化物歧化酶和两种蛋白质降解酶的基因。离子稳态基因以及参与转录、翻译和其他重要细胞过程的几个基因也随之上调。这些数据提供了反式-2-己烯醛作为抗真菌熏蒸剂的作用机制的见解，该熏蒸剂在低温下具有活性，并将指导未来对六种碳挥发物抑制破坏性疟原虫和其他致病菌生长的分子机制的研究。菌类。