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Population genetics of the frog-killing fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

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Morgan, J.A.T., Vredenburg, V.T., Rachowicz, L.J., Knapp, R.A., Stice, M.J., Tunstall, T., Bingham, R.E., Parker, J.M., Longcore, J.E., Moritz, C., Briggs, C.J. and Taylor, J.W. (2007) Population genetics of the frog-killing fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104 (34). pp. 13845-13850.

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Article Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0701838104

Publisher URL: http://www.nasonline.org

Abstract

Global amphibian decline by chytridiomycosis is a major environmental disaster that has been attributed to either recent fungal spread or environmental change that promotes disease. Here, we present a population genetic comparison of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis isolates from an intensively studied region of frog decline, the Sierra Nevada of California. In support of a novel pathogen, we find low diversity, no amphibian-host specificity, little correlation between fungal genotype and geography, local frog extirpation by a single fungal genotype, and evidence of human-assisted fungus migration. In support of endemism, at a local scale, we find some diverse, recombining populations. Therefore neither epidemic spread nor endemism alone explains this particular amphibian decline. Recombination raises the possibility of resistant sporangia and a mechanism for rapid spread as well as persistence that could greatly complicate global control of the pathogen.

Item Type:Article
Corporate Creators:Emerging Technologies
Additional Information:© The National Academy of Sciences of the USA.
Keywords:Chytridiomycosis; emerging infectious disease; enigmatic amphibian decline; global spread; recombination; animal disease; article; Chytridiomycetes; classification; female; frogs and toads; genetics; genotype; isolation and purification; male; microbiology; molecular genetics; mycosis; population genetics; United States; animals; Anura; California; Chytridiomycota; molecular sequence data; mycoses.
Subjects:Science > Science (General)
Science > Botany > Cryptogams
Science > Zoology > Chordates. Vertebrates > Reptiles and amphibians
Science > Biology > Genetics
Live Archive:24 Feb 2009 05:28
Last Modified:03 Sep 2021 16:43

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