WIKIMEDIA, THOMAS BROWNA chytrid fungus that attacks frogs has ravaged amphibian populations around the globe. But a study published in Nature today (July 10) showed that all might not be lost. Frogs who survived fungal exposure multiple times appeared to build up some immunity.
“Our findings offer hope that amphibians and other wild animals threatened by fungal pathogens—such as bats, bees and snakes—might be capable of acquiring resistance to fungi and so might be rescued by management approaches based on herd immunity,” Jason Rohr, a biologist at the University of South Florida and a coauthor of the study, said in a press release.
Rohr and his colleagues exposed frogs to dead or live Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), but didn’t allow the infection to take hold. In both cases, those frogs that had been exposed multiple times fared better than frogs that had not met the fungus before. The results show that frogs can develop immunity to the fungus, perhaps offering a method of inoculating the animals. “This may provide the ...
