Chytridiomycosis

Chytridiomycosis is an amphibian disease caused by chytrid fungi, especially Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans. It damages skin, disrupting essential functions such as water and electrolyte balance.

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis: A chytrid fungus that infects amphibian skin and causes chytridiomycosis. This pathogen causes many chytridiomycosis outbreaks and is the disease’s best-studied agent.
Amphibian decline: The widespread reduction of amphibian populations and species around the world. Chytridiomycosis is a major disease-related driver of amphibian declines.
Lee Berger: An Australian veterinary pathologist who helped identify Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis as an amphibian pathogen. Berger and colleagues described the fungus and linked it to mass amphibian mortality.
Quantitative PCR: A laboratory method that measures target DNA by amplifying it through repeated cycles. Quantitative PCR detects and estimates chytrid DNA on amphibian skin swabs.
Amphibian microbiome: The community of microorganisms living on and within amphibians. Skin microbes can inhibit chytrid growth, but their protective effects vary among hosts and environments.
Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans: A chytrid fungus that causes lethal skin disease in salamanders and newts. This second chytrid pathogen extends the disease beyond infections caused by B. dendrobatidis.
Panamanian golden frog: A critically endangered frog species from Panama, now extinct in the wild. Chytridiomycosis contributed to the disappearance of this emblematic species from the wild.
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis discovery: The 1998 identification of a chytrid fungus associated with amphibian disease and mortality. This discovery established the pathogen underlying many previously unexplained amphibian die-offs.
Amphibian disease surveillance: The systematic monitoring of disease in wild and captive amphibian populations. Surveillance tracks infection prevalence and identifies populations at risk.
Amphibian disease resistance: The capacity of amphibians to limit infection or disease caused by pathogens. Differences in resistance help explain why chytridiomycosis devastates some species but spares others.

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