Exposure to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis affects chemical defences in two anuran amphibians, Rana dalmatina and Bufo bufo

BMC Evolutionary Biology

article

Ujszegi, János¹  Hettyey, Attila¹  Ludányi, Krisztina³  Móricz, Ágnes M.⁴  Krüzselyi, Dániel⁴  Drahos, László⁵  Drexler, Tamás¹  Németh, Márk Z.⁶  Vörös, Judit⁷  Garner, Trenton W. J.⁸ 

[1] Lendület Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research;Department of Ecology, Institute for Biology, University of Veterinary Medicine;Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University;Department of Pathophysiology, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research;MS Proteomics Research Group, Institute of Organic Chemistry, Research Centre for Natural Sciences;Department of Plant Pathology, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research;Department of Zoology;Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London;Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University

关键词: Antimicrobial peptide;    Bufadienolide;    Indirect effect;    Infectious diseases;    Innate immunity;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12862-021-01867-w

学科分类：护理学

来源: BioMed Central

【 摘 要 】

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is the causative agent of chytridiomycosis, one of the major causes of worldwide amphibian biodiversity loss. Many amphibians exhibit skin-based chemical defences, which may play an important role against invading pathogens, but whether the synthesis of these chemical compounds is enhanced or suppressed in the presence of pathogens is largely unknown. Here we investigated direct and indirect effects of larval exposure to the globally distributed and highly virulent Bd-GPL strain on skin secreted chemical defences and life history traits during early ontogeny of agile frogs (Rana dalmatina) and common toads (Bufo bufo). Exposure to Bd during the larval stage did not result in enhanced synthesis of the antimicrobial peptide Brevinin-1 Da in R. dalmatina tadpoles or in increased production of bufadienolides in B. bufo tadpoles. However, exposure to Bd during the larval stage had a carry-over effect reaching beyond metamorphosis: both R. dalmatina and B. bufo froglets contained smaller quantities of defensive chemicals than their Bd-naïve conspecifics in the control treatment. Prevalence of Bd and infection intensities were very low in both larvae and metamorphs of R. dalmatina, while in B. bufo we observed high Bd prevalence and infection intensities, especially in metamorphs. At the same time, we did not find a significant effect of Bd-exposure on body mass or development rate in larvae or metamorphs in either species. The lack of detrimental effect of Bd-exposure on life history traits, even parallel with high infection intensities in the case of B. bufo individuals, is surprising and suggests high tolerance of local populations of these two species against Bd. However, the lowered quantity of defensive chemicals may compromise antimicrobial and antipredatory defences of froglets, which may ultimately contribute to population declines also in the absence of conspicuous mass-mortality events.

【 授权许可】

CC BY|CC0