N the United States and Canada, bats use one of two strategies to survive winter: They either migrate south, or they hibernate.
Recently, those that hibernate seem to have come under attack by a fungus, Geomyces destructans (Gd), an attack that is occurring from Missouri to southern Canada. Many infected bats have a delicate, white filamentous mat on their muzzles, which is referred to as white-nose syndrome (WNS). The fungus invades the bat tissues, causes discomfort, and awakens the bat from its hibernation. The bat fidgets and wastes calories, using up its stored fat. The bat then behaves abnormally, leaving its cave during daytime in winter to search for food. Their food, primarily insects, is scarce during the winter, and the bats ultimately starve to death. Since 2007, it is estimated that up to one million bats have perished from WNS. The Gd mat on the fur of the bats should be expected to consist of _____.
It is given that the bat affected by fungus, Geomyces destructans (Gd) consists of delicate, white filamentous mat on their muzzles which could be possibly the hyphae.
It is so because the hyphae is made of cells having tubular cell walls which more or less look like internal cross-walls having large pores to absorb nutrients from the surrounding environment (i.e bat’s body) and transport them to thallus. Hyphae are basically long thread like structures that spread throughout their food and release enzymes that break down the food
