Presence of low virulence chytrid fungi could protect European amphibians from more deadly strains

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 5393
• Main Authors: Greener, Mark S., Verbrugghe, Elin, Kelly, Moira, Blooi, Mark, Beukema, Wouter, Canessa, Stefano, Carranza, Salvador, Croubels, Siska, De Troyer, Niels, Fernandez-Giberteau, Daniel, Goethals, Peter, Lens, Luc, Li, Zhimin, Stegen, Gwij, Strubbe, Diederik, van Leeuwenberg, Robby, Van Praet, Sarah, Vila-Escale, Mireia, Vervaeke, Muriel, Pasmans, Frank, Martel, An
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 26.10.2020; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 13/1; 38/22; 38/77; 38/88; 38/90; 631/158/672; 631/326/193/2544; 631/601/2721; 704/158/1469; Alytes obstetricans; Amphibians; Animal diseases; Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis; Chytridiomycosis; Disease; Exposure; Fungi; Humanities and Social Sciences; Infections; Mass extinctions; multidisciplinary; Pathogens; Reptiles & amphibians; Salamandra salamandra; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sibling species; Toads; Triturus marmoratus; Vertebrates; Virulence; Wildlife
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19241-7

Wildlife diseases are contributing to the current Earth’s sixth mass extinction; one disease, chytridiomycosis, has caused mass amphibian die-offs. While global spread of a hypervirulent lineage of the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ( Bd GPL) causes unprecedented loss of vertebrate diversity by decimating amphibian populations, its impact on amphibian communities is highly variable across regions. Here, we combine field data with in vitro and in vivo trials that demonstrate the presence of a markedly diverse variety of low virulence isolates of Bd GPL in northern European amphibian communities. Pre-exposure to some of these low virulence isolates protects against disease following subsequent exposure to highly virulent Bd GPL in midwife toads ( Alytes obstetricans ) and alters infection dynamics of its sister species B. salamandrivorans in newts ( Triturus marmoratus ), but not in salamanders ( Salamandra salamandra ). The key role of pathogen virulence in the complex host-pathogen-environment interaction supports efforts to limit pathogen pollution in a globalized world. The pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (BD) associated with widespread amphibian declines is present in Europe but has not consistently caused disease-induced declines in that region. Here, the authors suggest that an endemic strain of BD with low virulence may protect the hosts upon co-infection with more virulent strains.