Disease state associated with chronic toe lesions in hellbenders may alter anti-chytrid skin defenses

Autor: Rebecca H. Hardman, Laura K. Reinert, Kelly J. Irwin, Kendall Oziminski, Louise Rollins-Smith, Debra L. Miller
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Scientific Reports, Vol 13, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2045-2322
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-28334-4
Popis: Abstract Hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) are large, aquatic salamanders from the eastern United States. Both subspecies, eastern and Ozark hellbenders, have experienced declines resulting in federal listing of Ozark hellbenders. The globally distributed chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been detected in both subspecies, and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) poses a new threat if introduced into North America. Ozark hellbenders also suffer a high prevalence of toe lesions of unknown etiology, with changes in host immunocompetence hypothesized to contribute. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) secreted from dermal granular glands may play a role in hellbender health. We collected skin secretions from free-ranging hellbenders and enriched them for small cationic peptides used for growth inhibition assays against Bd and Bsal. Generalized linear mixed models revealed the presence of active toe lesions as the strongest and only significant predictor of decreased Bd inhibition by skin peptides. We also found skin secretions were more inhibitory of Bsal than Bd. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry revealed candidate peptides responsible for anti-chytrid activity. Results support the hypothesis that hellbender skin secretions are important for innate immunity against chytrid pathogens, and decreased production or release of skin peptides may be linked to other sub-lethal effects of disease associated with toe lesions.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
Externí odkaz:
Nepřihlášeným uživatelům se plný text nezobrazuje