"For the first time since the WNS outbreak, Sybill Amelon and her research team are providing a reason for optimism." says a article in the Columbia Missourian. "Amelon [and her team] has developed a breakthrough bacterial treatment that could revitalize a devastated population and reclaim caves for bats in North America."
Amelon is leading one of the most promising efforts yet to control the disease using the discovery of Chris Cornelison, PHD biologist from Georgia State University who was investigating use of a bacteria Rhodococcus rhodochrous for food preservation. This bacteria inhibits fungal growth and delays fruit ripening by 14 days without direct contact with the fruit; meaning a reduced impact on cave life and hope for bats.
"Our objective is not to get rid of white nose .... [but] to increase bat survival to allow them to coevolve with the disease." Amelon said. She predicts that survival won't be widespread at first since Rhodococcus bacteria can't destroy the fungus completely, but it can swing momentum in favor of the bats.
Although Cornelison discovered the effects of Rhodococcus rhodochrous, the cure has been shaped by Amelon's work. "She's been our greatest ally," Cornelison said. He explained that her work catalyzed the move from a Petri dish to a cave environment. This winter Amelon plans to introduce the bacterium to a cave for the first time. Bats will be pulled out of a cave, treated in the lab, and then returned to the cave. Amelon and Cornelison have identified four test sites, one of which is in Boone County.
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