Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a chytrid fungus that infects amphibian skin and causes chytridiomycosis, a disease associated with severe declines and extinctions in amphibian populations.

Chytridiomycosis: An infectious disease of amphibians caused by chytrid fungi, especially Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. The disease this fungus causes, defined by infection of keratinized skin.
Amphibian decline: The widespread reduction in amphibian populations and species observed across many regions. Infection by this fungus is a major cause of declines in susceptible amphibian populations.
Lee Berger: A South African herpetologist who helped identify the chytrid fungus responsible for amphibian chytridiomycosis. Berger and colleagues described the pathogen and linked it to amphibian disease in 1998.
Quantitative PCR: A laboratory method that amplifies and measures specific DNA sequences in a sample. Quantitative PCR detects and estimates B. dendrobatidis DNA on amphibian swabs.
Amphibian skin: The permeable, protective outer tissue of amphibians, also involved in respiration and water balance. The fungus colonizes this tissue, disrupting functions amphibians depend on.
Amphibian extinction: The permanent loss of an amphibian species when its last individual dies. Chytridiomycosis has contributed to extinction and severe range contraction in multiple species.
Chytrid fungus discovery: The identification of chytrid fungi as causes of infectious disease in amphibians. The discovery established this fungus as a previously unrecognized cause of mass amphibian mortality.
Amphibian skin swabbing: A sampling method that collects skin cells and microbes from amphibians using a sterile swab. Swabs provide material for molecular detection of this fungus in live animals.
Zoospore: A motile, flagellated reproductive cell that disperses through water in many fungi and protists. This fungus releases motile zoospores that seek and infect amphibian skin.
Panama golden frog: A brightly colored Panamanian toad whose wild populations collapsed during a chytridiomycosis outbreak. Its decline became a prominent example of the disease's impact on amphibians.

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