TY - JOUR
T1 - Resistance to Chytridiomycosis in European Plethodontid Salamanders of the Genus Speleomantes
AU - Pasmans, Frank
AU - Van Rooij, Pascale
AU - Blooi, Mark
AU - Tessa, Giulia
AU - Bogaerts, Sergé
AU - Sotgiu, Giuseppe
AU - Garner, Trenton W J
AU - Fisher, Matthew C.
AU - Schmidt, Benedikt R.
AU - Woeltjes, Tonnie
AU - Beukema, Wouter
AU - Bovero, Stefano
AU - Adriaensen, Connie
AU - Oneto, Fabrizio
AU - Ottonello, Dario
AU - Martel, An
AU - Salvidio, Sebastiano
PY - 2013/5/20
Y1 - 2013/5/20
N2 - North America and the neotropics harbor nearly all species of plethodontid salamanders. In contrast, this family of caudate amphibians is represented in Europe and Asia by two genera, Speleomantes and Karsenia, which are confined to small geographic ranges. Compared to neotropical and North American plethodontids, mortality attributed to chytridiomycosis caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has not been reported for European plethodontids, despite the established presence of Bd in their geographic distribution. We determined the extent to which Bd is present in populations of all eight species of European Speleomantes and show that Bd was undetectable in 921 skin swabs. We then compared the susceptibility of one of these species, Speleomantes strinatii, to experimental infection with a highly virulent isolate of Bd (BdGPL), and compared this to the susceptible species Alytes muletensis. Whereas the inoculated A. muletensis developed increasing Bd-loads over a 4-week period, none of five exposed S. strinatii were colonized by Bd beyond 2 weeks post inoculation. Finally, we determined the extent to which skin secretions of Speleomantes species are capable of killing Bd. Skin secretions of seven Speleomantes species showed pronounced killing activity against Bd over 24 hours. In conclusion, the absence of Bd in Speleomantes combined with resistance to experimental chytridiomycosis and highly efficient skin defenses indicate that the genus Speleomantes is a taxon unlikely to decline due to Bd.
AB - North America and the neotropics harbor nearly all species of plethodontid salamanders. In contrast, this family of caudate amphibians is represented in Europe and Asia by two genera, Speleomantes and Karsenia, which are confined to small geographic ranges. Compared to neotropical and North American plethodontids, mortality attributed to chytridiomycosis caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has not been reported for European plethodontids, despite the established presence of Bd in their geographic distribution. We determined the extent to which Bd is present in populations of all eight species of European Speleomantes and show that Bd was undetectable in 921 skin swabs. We then compared the susceptibility of one of these species, Speleomantes strinatii, to experimental infection with a highly virulent isolate of Bd (BdGPL), and compared this to the susceptible species Alytes muletensis. Whereas the inoculated A. muletensis developed increasing Bd-loads over a 4-week period, none of five exposed S. strinatii were colonized by Bd beyond 2 weeks post inoculation. Finally, we determined the extent to which skin secretions of Speleomantes species are capable of killing Bd. Skin secretions of seven Speleomantes species showed pronounced killing activity against Bd over 24 hours. In conclusion, the absence of Bd in Speleomantes combined with resistance to experimental chytridiomycosis and highly efficient skin defenses indicate that the genus Speleomantes is a taxon unlikely to decline due to Bd.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84877884683&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0063639
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0063639
M3 - Article
C2 - 23703511
AN - SCOPUS:84877884683
VL - 8
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
SN - 1932-6203
IS - 5
M1 - e63639
ER -