Beyond Sea Turtles: Fusarium keratoplasticum in Eggshells of Podocnemis unifilis, a Threatened Amazonian Freshwater Turtle.

ABSTRACT: The endangered yellow-spotted river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) has experienced a dramatic population decline in the Ecuadorian Amazonia, mainly due to overexploitation of its eggs. To reverse this trend, the Wildlife Conservation Society has developed a head-start program in Yasuní National Park since 2008, but the potential risk that microbes associated with its eggs might represent for hatching success has not been evaluated yet. Members of the Fusarium solani species complex (FSSC) are involved in egg failure in sea turtles under natural and hatchery conditions, but their role in infecting the eggs of P. unifilis is unknown. In this study, we collected eggshells of P. unifilis and obtained 50 fungal and bacterial isolates. Some potentially patho

SUBMITTER: Garcia-Martin JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8470610 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature