Winter is coming-Temperature affects immune defenses and susceptibility to Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans.

ABSTRACT: Environmental temperature is a key factor driving various biological processes, including immune defenses and host-pathogen interactions. Here, we evaluated the effects of environmental temperature on the pathogenicity of the emerging fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), using controlled laboratory experiments, and measured components of host immune defense to identify regulating mechanisms. We found that adult and juvenile Notophthalmus viridescens died faster due to Bsal chytridiomycosis at 14°C than at 6 and 22°C. Pathogen replication rates, total available proteins on the skin, and microbiome composition likely drove these relationships. Temperature-dependent skin microbiome composition in our laboratory experiments matched seasonal trends in wild N. viridescens,

SUBMITTER: Carter ED 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7891748 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature