The pathogenBatrachochytrium dendrobatidisdisturbs the frog skin microbiome during a natural epidemic and experimental infection
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- 10 November 2014
- journal article
- Published by National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Vol. 111 (47) , 201412752-58
Abstract
Significance: Animals are inhabited by communities of microbes (the microbiome) that potentially interact with pathogens. Detailed studies of microbiome–pathogen interactions in nature are rare, and even when correlations are observed, determining causal relationships is challenging. The microbiome–pathogen relationship is of particular interest in the case ofBatrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a chytrid fungus that infects the skin of amphibians and is causing amphibian declines worldwide. We documented a strong correlation between pathogen load and skin bacterial communities of frogs during natural disease episodes. We then showed experimentally that infection alters the microbiome, with similar bacteria responding in both laboratory and field. The results indicate that the chytrid pathogen drives changes in the amphibian skin microbiome during disease episodes in wild frogs.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Science Foundation (NSF) (DEB-0723563)
- National Science Foundation (NSF) (DEB-1210682)
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