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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Prevalence Of A Chytrid Pathogen (Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis) In Eastern Hellbender Salamanders In New York And Pennsylvania, Linxuan Wu
Biology Theses
Amphibian populations are currently declining globally. There are many possible causes for these declines, among which an emerging infectious disease, chytridiomycosis, has been implicated. Chytridiomycosis in the U.S.A. is mainly caused by the Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. In this study, I used qPCR assays to detect the existence of this pathogen in the Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) populations in the Allegheny and Susquehanna River drainages of New York and Pennsylvania. Chytrid is most often tested by using skin swabs, but in this study, tail clips, dorsal skin, blood and eggs were tested as well. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis was detected …
Comparative Analysis Of Anti-Bd Bacteria From Six Malagasy Frog Species Of Ranomafana National Park, Kelsey Savage
Comparative Analysis Of Anti-Bd Bacteria From Six Malagasy Frog Species Of Ranomafana National Park, Kelsey Savage
Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
As Malagasy amphibians are facing an impending extinction crisis from the lethal skin fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), it has become imperative to proactively mitigate the threat. Bd sporangia develop in the skin of infected amphibians and cause the skin to thicken, leading to ionic imbalance and eventual heart failure. It has been shown that certain bacterial species are able to inhibit Bd growth on amphibians by producing antifungal metabolites. Community-based probiotics are one approach used to combat chytridomycosis by inoculating an environment with Bd-inhibitory bacteria so that many amphibian species are treated at once. With this method, it is important …