Pseudogymnoascus destructans survival at elevated temperatures – Artificial media count data

The survival of Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) was evaluated at temperatures outside of its thermal range of growth on three different artificial growth media; Sabouraud dextrose agar (SD), brain-heart infusion agar (BHI), and brain-heart infusion agar supplemented with 10% sheep red blood cells (BHI+B). Pd was harvested from starting cultures grown of MEA agar at 7˚C for 60 days. Harvested conidia were diluted in Phosphate Buffered Saline + Tween20 and spread onto plates of a given medium. Plate were then incubated at either 24, 30 or 37˚C. Plates were incubated for 1, 5, 9, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, or 150 days before being transferred to a 7˚C incubator for 50 days. Colony forming units (CFUs) of Pd were then enumerated, resulting in a time series of Pd survival on a given medium at a given temperature. As each medium was inoculated from a different starting culture of Pd, a control group for each medium was created by inoculating plates as above and then immediate incubation at 7˚C for 50 days. The number of CFUs on the control plates was used as a statistical offset factor which allowed for the fair comparison of Pd survival between different media. The number of conidia initially plated onto each plate varied between 100, 1000 , and 10,000, depending on the temperature-medium treatment combination. In order to ensure robust statistical analysis, all data was rescaled by an appropriate correction factor which is also presented in the datafile.