Fungus causing White-Nose Syndrome in bats accumulates genetic variability in North America and shows no sign of recombination

Emerging fungal diseases of wildlife are on the rise worldwide (3) and the best lens on the evolution of the fungal pathogens is population genomics. Our genome-wide analysis shows that the newly introduced North American population of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causal agent of White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) in bats, has expanded in size, has begun to accumulate variation through mutation, and presents no evidence as yet for genetic exchange and recombination among individuals.