Inhibitory Bacterial Diversity and Mucosome Function Differentiate Susceptibility of Appalachian Salamanders to Chytrid Fungal Infection.

ABSTRACT: Mucosal defenses are crucial in animals for protection against pathogens and predators. Host defense peptides (antimicrobial peptides, AMPs) as well as skin-associated microbes are key components of mucosal immunity, particularly in amphibians. We integrate microbiology, molecular biology, network-thinking, and proteomics to understand how host and microbially derived products on amphibian skin (referred to as the mucosome) serve as pathogen defenses. We studied defense mechanisms against chytrid pathogens, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and B. salamandrivorans (Bsal), in four salamander species with different Batrachochytrium susceptibilities. Bd infection was quantified using qPCR, mucosome function (i.e., ability to kill Bd or Bsal zoospores in vitro), s

SUBMITTER: Jimenez RR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9040618 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature