Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Noah Wax, Jenifer B. Walke, David C. Haak, Lisa K. Belden
Summary: This study sequenced the whole genomes of bacterial isolates from amphibian skin in the Eastern US and tested their ability to inhibit the growth of the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). The results revealed differences in gene families and biosynthetic gene clusters among the isolates, suggesting potential mechanisms for inhibiting Bd growth. Further research is needed to explore and verify these hypotheses.
Review
Microbiology
Lionel Schilliger, Clement Paillusseau, Camille Francois, Jesse Bonwitt
Summary: In this narrative review, three important fungal EIDs with keratin trophism relevant to reptile and amphibian conservation and veterinary practice are described. These EIDs include Nannizziopsis spp., Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, and Batrachochytrium spp., which cause various clinical signs in infected animals. Infection and clinical course are influenced by host-related characteristics, pathogen factors, and environmental conditions.
Article
Microbiology
Myra C. Hughey, Eria A. Rebollar, Reid N. Harris, Roberto Ibanez, Stephen C. Loftus, Leanna L. House, Kevin P. C. Minbiole, Molly C. Bletz, Daniel Medina, William R. Shoemaker, Meredith C. Swartwout, Lisa K. Belden
Summary: The variation in host-associated microbial communities is correlated with disease occurrence and severity in different host species, suggesting the important role of the microbiome in pathogen defense. This study investigates the relationship between microbial communities and infection dynamics in amphibians, showing that the microbiome can mediate or be altered by pathogen exposure.
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alyssa W. Kaganer, Robert J. Ossiboff, Nicole I. Keith, Krysten L. Schuler, Pierre Comizzoli, Matthew P. Hare, Robert C. Fleischer, Brian Gratwicke, Elizabeth M. Bunting
Summary: Dynamic interactions between host, pathogen, and host-associated microbiome were investigated in Eastern hellbender salamanders challenged with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Vaccination did not affect pathogen load, but stimulated different host gene expression depending on the vaccination type. The microbiome was altered by Bd, but anti-Bd microbe abundance or richness did not correlate with pathogen burden. Our findings suggest that the immune response of hellbenders to Bd is initially vigorous but ineffective in controlling disease, and interactions with antifungal skin microbiota do not influence disease progression.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Minjie Fu, Bruce Waldman
Summary: Global wildlife trade spreads emerging infectious diseases, with a particular pathogen called chytrid causing species extinctions worldwide. However, in Asia, fire-bellied toads carry a hypervirulent ancestor variant of the chytrid pathogen and selling them internationally may spread the dangerous pathogen to new environments.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Lubna Mulla, Obed Hernandez-Gomez
Summary: Environmental change can disrupt natural associations between wildlife and microbial symbionts, which can harm the host's health. A study on North American terrestrial salamanders found that the skin microbiota of amphibians has species-specific responses to wildfires, although overall, wildfires alter the composition of the skin microbiota. The effects of burning on alpha diversities and body condition vary with sampling season and suggest the influence of annual climatic conditions on body condition and skin microbiota response. This study highlights the correlation between increasing wildfire disturbance and the response of skin microbiota in western North American ecosystems, emphasizing the need to consider the effects of increased wildfire regimes/intensities on wildlife-associated microbiota and animal health.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Marilen Haver, Gael Le Roux, Jan Friesen, Adeline Loyau, Vance T. Vredenburg, Dirk S. Schmeller
Summary: The emergence of the chytridiomycete fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has led to the collapse of amphibian communities in mountain systems. Climate change and pollution are also threatening the health of amphibians and their freshwater habitats. This review examines how abiotic variables, such as climate and water chemistry, impact Bd occurrence and severity, and discusses the need for further research on the relationship between global change, pollution, and pathogens in mountain landscapes.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Kieran A. Bates, Ulf Sommer, Kevin P. Hopkins, Jennifer M. G. Shelton, Claudia Wierzbicki, Christopher Sergeant, Benjamin Tapley, Christopher J. Michaels, Dirk S. Schmeller, Adeline Loyau, Jaime Bosch, Mark R. Viant, Xavier A. Harrison, Trenton W. J. Garner, Matthew C. Fisher
Summary: The skin microbial community structure of amphibians is linked to the clinical outcome of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (8d) infections. This study used multi-omics analyses in laboratory and field settings to demonstrate that 8d infection alters microbiome taxonomic and functional profiles.
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Anat M. Belasen, Imani D. Russell, Kelly R. Zamudio, Molly C. Bletz
Summary: The study found that long-term historical coexistence may lead to less disease-induced mortality, potentially due to hypovirulence in endemic Bd lineages, while more recent coexistence between amphibians and Bd-GPL has not yet resulted in reduced host susceptibility or pathogen virulence.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biology
Chloe Ramsay, Jason R. Rohr
Summary: Immunity changes through ontogeny and can mediate interactions between co-infecting parasites. Host immunity development alters the host responses to parasite exposures across different life stages. A study conducted on Cuban treefrogs exposed to fungus (Bd) and nematodes (A. hamatospicula) at different life stages found ontogenetic differences in immunity, but no evidence of increased immunosuppression in metamorphic frogs. There was also little evidence of facilitative interactions between the parasites, but Bd infection decreased immunity in metamorphic frogs, making them more susceptible to infection.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kristyn A. Robinson, Sarah M. Prostak, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Lillian K. Fritz-Laylin
Summary: The frog-killing chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is rapidly triggered into its reproductive state when exposed to amphibian mucus, a process that does not require gene expression but relies on surface adhesion, calcium signaling, and modulation of the actin cytoskeleton.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Gayathri Sreedharan, Yashwant Singh Panwar, Saketh Murthy, Kaya Klop-Toker, Roberto Ibanez, Estefany E. Illueca, Rebecca Webb, Venu Govindappa, Barkha Subba, Harika Segu, Krishna Pavan Kumar Komanduri, Karthikeyan Vasudevan
Summary: Chytridiomycosis, caused by two chytrid fungi, is a devastating infectious disease in amphibians, leading to unprecedented loss in global amphibian diversity. Efficient surveillance and monitoring is crucial in preventing further declines or extinctions of amphibian populations.
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Leni Lammens, An Martel, Frank Pasmans
Summary: Research shows that peracetic acid (PAA) can effectively kill the highly virulent Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), helping to mitigate the spread of Chytridiomycosis disease and having no obvious adverse effects on tadpoles. However, the use of PAA can lead to a decrease in pH and dissolved oxygen in water, which needs to be addressed through aeration.
Article
Biology
Tamilie Carvalho, Daniel Medina, Luisa P. Ribeiro, David Rodriguez, Thomas S. Jenkinson, C. Guilherme Becker, Luis Felipe Toledo, Jessica L. Hite
Summary: Globalization may inadvertently select for more virulent pathogens by altering the abundance, diversity, and distribution of species and their pathogens. Coinfections involving different genotypes can result in more severe infections or higher virulence.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Anthony W. Waddle, Rebeca Rivera, Hannah Rice, Emma C. Keenan, Ghazal Rezaei, Joshua E. Levy, Yesenia S. Vasquez, Marlai Sai, Jessica Hill, Alexandra Zmuda, Yorick Lambreghts, Jef R. Jaeger
Summary: The study reveals that low-virulence Bd inoculations can provide long-term resistance against chytridiomycosis in amphibians, and clearance of infections with itraconazole after Bd exposure can increase host resistance to the disease. The use of a low-virulence Bd inoculation may be developed into a transmissible vaccine to propagate protective benefits.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Jenny C. Urbina, Juan C. Benavides
Article
Microbiology
Godefroy Devevey, Trang Dang, Christopher J. Graves, Sarah Murray, Dustin Brisson
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Julia C. Buck, Jessica Hua, William R. Brogan, Trang D. Dang, Jenny Urbina, Randall J. Bendis, Aaron B. Stoler, Andrew R. Blaustein, Rick A. Relyea
Article
Ecology
Tiffany S. Garcia, Jenny C. Urbina, Evan M. Bredeweg, Maud C. O. Ferrari
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Jenny Urbina, Evan M. Bredeweg, Tiffany S. Garcia, Andrew R. Blaustein
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Stephanie S. Gervasi, Patrick R. Stephens, Jessica Hua, Catherine L. Searle, Gisselle Yang Xie, Jenny Urbina, Deanna H. Olson, Betsy A. Bancroft, Virginia Weis, John I. Hammond, Rick A. Relyea, Andrew R. Blaustein
Article
Zoology
Jenny Urbina, Sandra P. Galeano, Leonardo D. Bacigalupe, Sandra V. Flechas
Article
Ecology
Tiffany S. Garcia, Evan M. Bredeweg, Jenny Urbina, Maud C. O. Ferrari
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Andrew R. Blaustein, Devin K. Jones, Jenny Urbina, Ricky D. Cothran, Carmen Harjoe, Brian Mattes, Julia C. Buck, Randall Bendis, Trang Dang, Stephanie S. Gervasi, Rick Relyea
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jenny Urbina, Tara Chestnut, Donelle Schwalm, Jenn Allen, Taal Levi
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jenny Urbina, Evan M. Bredeweg, Christopher Cousins, Andrew R. Blaustein, Tiffany S. Garcia
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2020)
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Andrew R. Blaustein, Jenny Urbina, Paul W. Snyder, Emily Reynolds, Trang Dang, Jason T. Hoverman, Barbara Han, Deanna H. Olson, Catherine Searle, Natalie M. Hambalek