Inhibitory bacteria reduce fungi on early life stages of endangered Colorado boreal toads (Anaxyrus boreas).

ABSTRACT: Increasingly, host-associated microbiota are recognized to mediate pathogen establishment, providing new ecological perspectives on health and disease. Amphibian skin-associated microbiota interact with the fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), but little is known about microbial turnover during host development and associations with host immune function. We surveyed skin microbiota of Colorado's endangered boreal toads (Anaxyrus boreas), sampling 181 toads across four life stages (tadpoles, metamorphs, subadults and adults). Our goals were to (1) understand variation in microbial community structure among individuals and sites, (2) characterize shifts in communities during development and (3) examine the prevalence and abundance of known Bd-inhibitory bacteria. We used hig

SUBMITTER: Kueneman JG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4796932 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature