Unraveling the disease pyramid: the role of environmental micro-eukaryotes in amphibian resistance to the deadly fungal pathogen <i>Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis</i>.

ABSTRACT: The disease pyramid conceptualizes the predictors of host infection risk, linking the host, the pathogen, environmental conditions, and both host and environmental microbiomes. However, the importance of the interaction between environmental and host-associated microbiomes in shaping infectious disease dynamics remains poorly understood. While the majority of studies have focused on bacteria, the role of micro-eukaryotes has been seldom investigated. Here, we explore three axes of the disease pyramid using an 18S rRNA gene metabarcoding approach to analyze the micro-eukaryotic assemblages of biofilm, water, and skin samples from three European amphibian species. Skin bacterial communities of the investigated amphibian populations have already been shown to be impacted by the presence of th

SUBMITTER: Bouchali R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12817952 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature