Early 1900s detection of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Korean amphibians

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

PLoS ONE

Publication Date

2-4-2015

Volume

10

Issue

3

First Page

1

Last Page

8

Publisher

Public Library of Science

Abstract

The pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a major conservation concern because of its role in decimating amphibian populations worldwide. We used quantitative PCR to screen 244 museum specimens from the Korean Peninsula, collected between 1911 and 2004, for the presence of Bd to gain insight into its history in Asia. Three specimens ofRugosa emeljanovi (previously Rana or Glandirana rugosa), collected in 1911 from Wonsan, North Korea, tested positive for Bd. Histology of these positive specimens revealed mild hyperkeratosis – a non-specific host response commonly found in Bd-infected frogs – but noBd zoospores or zoosporangia. Our results indicate that Bd was present in Korea more than 100 years ago, consistent with hypotheses suggesting that Korean amphibians may be infected by endemic Asian Bd strains.

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0115656

E-ISSN

19326203

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2015 Fong et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Fong, J. J., Cheng, T. L., Bataille, A., Pessier, A. P., Waldman, B., & Vredenburg, V. T. (2015). Early 1900s detection of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Korean amphibians. PLOS one, 10(3): e0115656. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0115656

Share

COinS