Cutaneous Bacteria of the Redback Salamander Prevent Morbidity Associated with a Lethal Disease

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dc.contributor.authorBecker, Matthew H.en
dc.contributor.authorHarris, Reid N.en
dc.contributor.departmentBiological Sciencesen
dc.date.accessioned2018-11-12T20:11:11Zen
dc.date.available2018-11-12T20:11:11Zen
dc.date.issued2010-06-04en
dc.description.abstractChytridiomycosis, caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), is an infectious disease that causes population declines of many amphibians. Cutaneous bacteria isolated from redback salamanders, Plethodon cinereus, and mountain yellow-legged frogs, Rana muscosa, inhibit the growth of Bd in vitro. In this study, the bacterial community present on the skin of P. cinereus individuals was investigated to determine if it provides protection to salamanders from the lethal and sub-lethal effects of chytridiomycosis. When the cutaneous bacterial community was reduced prior to Bd exposure, salamanders experienced a significantly greater decrease in body mass, which is a symptom of the disease, when compared to infected individuals with a normal bacterial community. In addition, a greater proportion of infected individuals with a reduced bacterial community experienced limb-lifting, a behavior seen only in infected individuals. Overall, these results demonstrate that the cutaneous bacterial community of P. cinereus provides protection to the salamander from Bd and that alteration of this community can change disease resistance. Therefore, symbiotic microbes associated with this species appear to be an important component of its innate skin defenses.en
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010957en
dc.identifier.eissn1932-6203en
dc.identifier.issue6en
dc.identifier.othere10957en
dc.identifier.pmid20532032en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/85821en
dc.identifier.volume5en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherPLOSen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.titleCutaneous Bacteria of the Redback Salamander Prevent Morbidity Associated with a Lethal Diseaseen
dc.title.serialPLOS ONEen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten

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