科研之友
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摘要
For the past 17years, scientists have been compiling a list of amphibian species susceptible to infection by the amphibian-killing chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), all over the world, with >500 species infected on every continent except Antarctica (Olson etal. ). Where Bd has been found, the impacts on amphibians has been one of two types: either Bd arrives into a naive amphibian population followed by a mass die-off and population declines (e.g. Lips etal. ), or Bd is present at some moderate prevalence, usually infecting many species but at apparently nonlethal intensities for a long time. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Rodriguez etal. () discover that the Atlantic Coastal Forest of Brazil is home to two Bd lineages: the Global Pandemic Lineage (Bd-GPL) - the strain responsible for mass die-offs and population declines - and a lineage endemic to Brazil (Bd-Bz). Even more surprising was that both lineages have been present in this area for the past 100years, making these the oldest records of Bd infecting amphibians. The team also described a moderate but steady prevalence of similar to 20% across all sampled anuran families for over 100years, indicating that Brazil has been in an enzootic disease state for over a century. Most amphibians were infected with Bd-GPL, suggesting this lineage may be a better competitor than Bd-Bz or may be replacing the Bd-Bz lineage. Rodriguez etal. (2014) also detected likely hybridization of the two Bd lineages, as originally described by Schloegel etal. (2012).
- 出版日期2014-2
