Costa Rica's Biologists lament the extinction of most famous golden frogs, Incilius periglenes. This species became a plaque in the amphibian crisis caused by the disease Chytridiomycosis. This disease also attacks the frog, which is uniquely raise tadpoles in their stomachs. This frog species listed as missing since 1985.
Chytridiomycosis disease caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd, is the cause of the extinction of amphibians in Central America, South and North America, Australia, and Europe. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service noted, in the last 30 years, 200 species of amphibian populations around the world plummeted because of this fungus.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011 last week, an international team of researchers presented the first survey in Asia about the fungus that can kill frogs by disrupting the function of their skin. This massive survey to help scientists understand why the fungus has destroyed the frogs around the world. Then, why amphibians Asia has so far escaped the dramatic decline in the same?
A recent survey published in the journal PLoS One shows that Bd prevalent at very low levels in the region. Asia is home to a highly diverse amphibian species and susceptible to Bd.
But Vance Vredenburg, assistant professor of biology, said that very little is known about the fungus and its impact on the health of amphibians in Asia. "That's why we're really very excited about the large-scale survey of this first," said Vredenburg, who led the research team. "If you look at the chytrid around the world, Asia is becoming a black hole in our data."
From 2001 to 2009, Vredenburg and his colleagues studied more than 3,000 mostly frogs and amphibians in 15 Asian countries. They took the skin of the legs, thighs, and stomach of these animals to take the signs that infect the skin Bd.
They found that the prevalence of Bd is very low throughout the region. The figure is only 2.35 percent in the frog in the Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea.
Indeed, each site in this study only surveyed once. In this condition, said Vredenbuig, it is difficult to determine whether Bd infects in developing countries. It will be important, "To see how the prevalence of Bd changed through time because this is the key to understanding the final outcome of the disease."
If Bd has existed in Asia for a long time, researchers want to know why amphibians managed to coexist with the fungus that proved very destructive in other places. It is possible, for example, that Asian amphibians may have some sort of protection against Bd bacteria on their skin.
Other scientists analyzed the genes Bd fungus collected from around the world. It's to know if strains from different parts of the world also differ in their virulence.
According to Vredenburg, other studies need to follow up this survey. If Asia is on the verge of chytrid epidemics, Vredenburg and colleagues said, the Philippines became the most vulnerable locations. "The prevalence and intensity of Bd infection is much higher here than elsewhere in Asia," he said.
Bd in the Philippines when it looks like Bd at the beginning of the outbreak in Southern California and Central America.
This study is a step. The first important to understand the Bd in Asia. "It provides a solid foundation for future research," said Vredenburg.
*** [SCIENCEDAILY | UWD | KORAN TEMPO 3627]
Costa Rica's Biologists lament the extinction of most famous golden frogs, Incilius periglenes. This species became a plaque in the amphibian crisis caused by the disease Chytridiomycosis. This disease also attacks the frog, which is uniquely raise tadpoles in their stomachs. This frog species listed as missing since 1985.
Chytridiomycosis disease caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd, is the cause of the extinction of amphibians in Central America, South and North America, Australia, and Europe. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service noted, in the last 30 years, 200 species of amphibian populations around the world plummeted because of this fungus.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011 last week, an international team of researchers presented the first survey in Asia about the fungus that can kill frogs by disrupting the function of their skin. This massive survey to help scientists understand why the fungus has destroyed the frogs around the world. Then, why amphibians Asia has so far escaped the dramatic decline in the same?
A recent survey published in the journal PLoS One shows that Bd prevalent at very low levels in the region. Asia is home to a highly diverse amphibian species and susceptible to Bd.
But Vance Vredenburg, assistant professor of biology, said that very little is known about the fungus and its impact on the health of amphibians in Asia. "That's why we're really very excited about the large-scale survey of this first," said Vredenburg, who led the research team. "If you look at the chytrid around the world, Asia is becoming a black hole in our data."
From 2001 to 2009, Vredenburg and his colleagues studied more than 3,000 mostly frogs and amphibians in 15 Asian countries. They took the skin of the legs, thighs, and stomach of these animals to take the signs that infect the skin Bd.
They found that the prevalence of Bd is very low throughout the region. The figure is only 2.35 percent in the frog in the Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea.
Indeed, each site in this study only surveyed once. In this condition, said Vredenbuig, it is difficult to determine whether Bd infects in developing countries. It will be important, "To see how the prevalence of Bd changed through time because this is the key to understanding the final outcome of the disease."
If Bd has existed in Asia for a long time, researchers want to know why amphibians managed to coexist with the fungus that proved very destructive in other places. It is possible, for example, that Asian amphibians may have some sort of protection against Bd bacteria on their skin.
Other scientists analyzed the genes Bd fungus collected from around the world. It's to know if strains from different parts of the world also differ in their virulence.
According to Vredenburg, other studies need to follow up this survey. If Asia is on the verge of chytrid epidemics, Vredenburg and colleagues said, the Philippines became the most vulnerable locations. "The prevalence and intensity of Bd infection is much higher here than elsewhere in Asia," he said.
Bd in the Philippines when it looks like Bd at the beginning of the outbreak in Southern California and Central America.
This study is a step. The first important to understand the Bd in Asia. "It provides a solid foundation for future research," said Vredenburg. *** [SCIENCEDAILY | UWD | KORAN TEMPO 3627]
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