Effect of salts on the deadly amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

The amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a parasitic fungus that infects and kills amphibians worldwide. Bd causes electrolyte imbalance by destroying the keratin in the skin and causes cardiac arrest. Past studies have shown that Bd growth and motility can be inhibited by increased NaCl concentrations. In most studies, NaCl is the only type of salt used but Bd is exposed to other types of salts. In North American wetlands, runoff from road salts during winter and spring when Bd hosts (amphibians) often experience high levels of infection prevalence. This study investigated how different road salts at various concentrations affect the growth and motility of Bd. We predict that Bd growth will be inhibited more by road salts that contain more de-icing chemicals such as CaCl2 and that Bd growth will be the greatest in salts that are more environmentally friendly, such as Beet salt. Bd was reared in NaCl, CaCl2, and Beet salt at concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 ppt. Growth was then quantified through counting and measuring of the area of growth and compared across treatments. Bd growth is greater in the absence of any salt than in the presence of either Beet salt, CaCl2, or NaCl. Bd growth at 14C was greater than at 22C. Our findings suggest several types of roads salts may have negative effects on Bd life history traits that could translate to lower infections in amphibians. Future studies should explore how road salts affect amphibians exposed to road salts, and how infection dynamics change when both host and pathogen are in the presence of these salts

Daphnia predation on the amphibian chytrid fungus and its impacts on disease risk in tadpoles

Direct predation upon parasites has the potential to reduce infection in host populations. For example, the fungal parasite of amphibians, B atrachochytrium dendrobatidis ( B d), is commonly transmitted through a free‐swimming zoospore stage that may be vulnerable to predation. Potential predators of B d include freshwater zooplankton that graze on organisms in the water column. We tested the ability of two species of freshwater crustacean ( D aphnia magna and D . dentifera ) to consume B d and to reduce B d density in water and infection in tadpoles. In a series of laboratory experiments, we allowed D aphnia to graze in water containing B d while manipulating D aphnia densities, D aphnia species identity, grazing periods and concentrations of suspended algae ( A nkistrodesmus falcatus ). We then exposed tadpoles to the grazed water. We found that high densities of D . magna reduced the amount of Bd detected in water, leading to a reduction in the proportion of tadpoles that became infected. Daphnia dentifera , a smaller species of D aphnia , also reduced B d in water samples, but did not have an effect on tadpole infection. We also found that algae affected B d in complex ways. When D aphnia were absent, less B d was detected in water and tadpole samples when concentrations of algae were higher, indicating a direct negative effect of algae on B d. When D aphnia were present, however, the amount of B d detected in water samples showed the opposite trend, with less B d when densities of algae were lower. Our results indicate that D aphnia can reduce B d levels in water and infection in tadpoles, but these effects vary with species, algal concentration, and D aphnia density. Therefore, the ability of predators to consume parasites and reduce infection is likely to vary depending on ecological context. We tested the ability of two species of freshwater crustacean ( Daphnia magna and D. dentifera ) to consume zoospores of the amphibian parasite, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), and to reduce parasite density in water and infection in tadpoles. In a series of laboratory experiments, we allowed Daphnia to graze in water containing Bd, then exposed tadpoles to the grazed water. Our results show that Daphnia can reduce Bd levels in water and infection in tadpoles, but these effects vary with species, algal concentration and Daphnia density.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/100311/1/ece3777.pd

Reproductive health services in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa: A situation analysis study focusing on HIV/AIDS services

This Horizons report examines the readiness of reproductive health services in South Africa, which are primarily geared to women, to deliver HIV and AIDS treatment, care, and prevention services. The goal of the study was to obtain information from a representative sample of provincial health care facilities offering reproductive health services in KwaZulu Natal to meet the growing demand for HIV/AIDS-related services. Ninety-eight hospitals, community health centers, and clinics participated in the situation analysis that identified gaps in service delivery and determined priorities for service integration. Results of the study were presented to a large audience of Department of Health, NGO, and donor agency staff with the hope that this workshop would set a trend for feedback and the use of research for service improvement

Host species composition influences infection severity among amphibians in the absence of spillover transmission

Wildlife epidemiological outcomes can depend strongly on the composition of an ecological community, particularly when multiple host species are affected by the same pathogen. However, the relationship between host species richness and disease risk can vary with community context and with the degree of spillover transmission that occurs among co‐occurring host species. We examined the degree to which host species composition influences infection by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a widespread fungal pathogen associated with amphibian population declines around the world, and whether transmission occurs from one highly susceptible host species to other co‐occurring host species. By manipulating larval assemblages of three sympatric amphibian species in the laboratory, we characterized the relationship between host species richness and infection severity, whether infection mediates growth and survivorship differently across various combinations of host species, and whether Bd is transmitted from experimentally inoculated tadpoles to uninfected tadpoles. We found evidence of a dilution effect where Bd infection severity was dramatically reduced in the most susceptible of the three host species (Anaxyrus boreas). Infection also mediated survival and growth of all three host species such that the presence of multiple host species had both positive (e.g., infection reduction) and negative (e.g., mortality) effects on focal species. However, we found no evidence that Bd infection is transmitted by this species. While these results demonstrate that host species richness as well as species identity underpin infection dynamics in this system, dilution is not the product of reduced transmission via fewer infectious individuals of a susceptible host species. We discuss various mechanisms, including encounter reduction and antagonistic interactions such as competition and opportunistic cannibalism that may act in concert to mediate patterns of infection severity, growth, and mortality observed in multihost communities.There are many ways in which infection can be influenced by species diversity. Here we show experimentally that the interactions between species in a multi‐host amphibian community drive the severity of infection by the amphibian chytrid fungus. We find no evidence that infection is transmitted between two host species in our study, suggesting that spillover infection is not a cause of dilution effects in this system.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111214/1/ece31385.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111214/2/ece31385-sup-0001-FigureS1.pd

Development and Infectious Disease in Hosts with Complex Life Cycles

Metamorphosis is often characterized by profound changes in morphology and physiology that can affect the dynamics of species interactions. For example, the interaction between a pathogen and its host may differ depending on the life stage of the host or pathogen. One pathogen that infects hosts with complex life cycles is the emerging fungal pathogen of amphibians, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). We sought to determine how conditions at the larval stage can affect variation in development and patterns of Bd infection across amphibian life stages. We used outdoor experimental mesocosms to simulate natural pond habitats and manipulated the presence of Bd, the larval density, and the number of host species in larvae of two co-occurring amphibian species (Rana cascadae and Pseudacris regilla). We found that infection differed between species throughout development; P. regilla consistently had higher infection severity compared to R. cascadae. Additionally, while up to 100% of larvae were infected, only 18.2% of R. cascadae and 81.5% of P. regilla were infected after metamorphosis. This indicates that amphibians have the ability to recover from Bd infection as they undergo metamorphosis. Higher larval densities in P. regilla led to a shorter larval period, and individuals with a shorter larval period had lower infection severity. This led to a trend where P. regilla larvae reared at high densities tended to have lower infection prevalence after metamorphosis. We also found that exposure to Bd increased larval mortality and prolonged the larval period in P. regilla, indicating that P. regilla are susceptible to the negative effects of Bd as larvae. This study demonstrates that host density, species composition, and pathogen exposure may all interact to influence development and infection in hosts with complex life cycles

Parasite transmission in a natural multihost-multiparasite community

Understanding the transmission and dynamics of infectious diseases in natural communities requires understanding the extent to which the ecology, evolution and epidemiology of those diseases are shaped by alternative hosts. We performed laboratory experiments to test how parasite spillover affected traits associated with transmission in two co-occurring parasites: the bacterium Pasteuria ramosa and the fungus Metschnikowia bicuspidata. Both parasites were capable of transmission from the reservoir host (Daphnia dentifera) to the spillover host (Ceriodaphnia dubia), but this occurred at a much higher rate for the fungus than the bacterium. We quantified transmission potential by combining information on parasite transmission and growth rate, and used this to compare parasite fitness in the two host species. For both parasites, transmission potential was lower in the spillover host. For the bacterium, virulence was higher in the spillover host. Transmission back to the original host was high for both parasites, with spillover influencing transmission rate of the fungus but not the bacterium. Thus, whilst inferior, the spillover host is not a dead-end for either parasite. Overall, our results demonstrate that the presence of multiple hosts in a community can have important consequences for disease transmission and host and parasite fitness

The Consensus Coding Sequence (Ccds) Project: Identifying a Common Protein-Coding Gene Set for the Human and Mouse Genomes

Effective use of the human and mouse genomes requires reliable identification of genes and their products. Although multiple public resources provide annotation, different methods are used that can result in similar but not identical representation of genes, transcripts, and proteins. The collaborative consensus coding sequence (CCDS) project tracks identical protein annotations on the reference mouse and human genomes with a stable identifier (CCDS ID), and ensures that they are consistently represented on the NCBI, Ensembl, and UCSC Genome Browsers. Importantly, the project coordinates on manually reviewing inconsistent protein annotations between sites, as well as annotations for which new evidence suggests a revision is needed, to progressively converge on a complete protein-coding set for the human and mouse reference genomes, while maintaining a high standard of reliability and biological accuracy. To date, the project has identified 20,159 human and 17,707 mouse consensus coding regions from 17,052 human and 16,893 mouse genes. Three evaluation methods indicate that the entries in the CCDS set are highly likely to represent real proteins, more so than annotations from contributing groups not included in CCDS. The CCDS database thus centralizes the function of identifying well-supported, identically-annotated, protein-coding regions.National Human Genome Research Institute (U.S.) (Grant number 1U54HG004555-01)Wellcome Trust (London, England) (Grant number WT062023)Wellcome Trust (London, England) (Grant number WT077198

Current water quality guidelines across North America and Europe do not protect lakes from salinization

Human-induced salinization caused by the use of road deicing salts, agricultural practices, mining operations, and climate change is a major threat to the biodiversity and functioning of freshwater ecosystems. Yet, it is unclear if freshwater ecosystems are protected from salinization by current water quality guidelines. Leveraging an experimental network of land-based and in-lake mesocosms across North America and Europe, we tested how salinization-indicated as elevated chloride (C-) concentration-will affect lake food webs and if two of the lowest Cl- thresholds found globally are sufficient to protect these food webs. Our results indicated that salinization will cause substantial zooplankton mortality at the lowest Cl- thresholds established in Canada (120 mg Cl-/L) and the United States (230 mg Cl-/L) and throughout Europe where Cl- thresholds are generally higher. For instance, at 73% of our study sites, Cl- concentrations that caused a >= 50% reduction in cladoceran abundance were at or below Cl thresholds in Canada, in the United States, and throughout Europe. Similar trends occurred for copepod and rotifer zooplankton. The loss of zooplankton triggered a cascading effect causing an increase in phytoplankton biomass at 47% of study sites. Such changes in lake food webs could alter nutrient cycling and water clarity and trigger declines in fish production. Current Cl- thresholds across North America and Europe clearly do not adequately protect lake food webs. Water quality guidelines should be developed where they do not exist, and there is an urgent need to reassess existing guidelines to protect lake ecosystems from human-induced salinization.Peer reviewe

Lake salinization drives consistent losses of zooplankton abundance and diversity across coordinated mesocosm experiments

Human-induced salinization increasingly threatens inland waters; yet we know little about the multifaceted response of lake communities to salt contamination. By conducting a coordinated mesocosm experiment of lake salinization across 16 sites in North America and Europe, we quantified the response of zooplankton abundance and (taxonomic and functional) community structure to a broad gradient of environmentally relevant chloride concentrations, ranging from 4 to ca. 1400 mg Cl- L-1. We found that crustaceans were distinctly more sensitive to elevated chloride than rotifers; yet, rotifers did not show compensatory abundance increases in response to crustacean declines. For crustaceans, our among-site comparisons indicate: (1) highly consistent decreases in abundance and taxon richness with salinity; (2) widespread chloride sensitivity across major taxonomic groups (Cladocera, Cyclopoida, and Calanoida); and (3) weaker loss of functional than taxonomic diversity. Overall, our study demonstrates that aggregate properties of zooplankton communities can be adversely affected at chloride concentrations relevant to anthropogenic salinization in lakes.Peer reviewe