Simultaneous Detection of Missing Amphibians and Their Fungal Pathogen in a Biodiversity Hotspot Using eDNA.

ABSTRACT: Since the 1970s, striking amphibian declines in population abundances and presumed extinctions have been recorded globally. The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is one of the key drivers of these declines. To investigate the potential role of Bd in the decline of Brazil's amphibians, we first used eDNA metabarcoding to survey for DNA traces of 10 threatened amphibian species from the Southern Brazilian Atlantic forest (SBAF). Using the eDNA samples of this survey, along with eDNA samples from previous surveys of 32 threatened amphibian species from the Northern Brazilian Atlantic forest (NBAF), we examined the relationships between the presence or absence of targeted amphibians with the presence or absence of Bd lineages. We detected DNA traces of two of the 10 targeted s

SUBMITTER: Lopes CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12456115 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature