Antifungal isolates database of amphibian skin-associated bacteria and function against emerging fungal pathogens

Woodhams, D; Alford, R; Antwis, RE; Archer, H; Becker, MH; Belden, LK; Bell, SC; Bletz, M; Daskin, JH; et al.

Abstract

Microbial symbionts of vertebrate skin have an important function in defense of the host against pathogens. In particular, the emerging chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium
dendrobatidis, causes widespread disease in amphibians but can be inhibited via secondary metabolites produced by many different skin-associated bacteria. Similarly, the fungal
pathogens of terrestrial salamander eggs Mariannaea elegans and Rhizomucor variabilis are also inhibited by a variety of skin-associated bacteria. Indeed, probiotic therapy against fungal diseases is a recent approach in conservation medicine with growing experimental support. We
present a comprehensive Antifungal Isolates Database of amphibian skin-associated bacteria that have been cultured, isolated, and tested for antifungal properties. At the start, this database includes nearly 2000 cultured bacterial isolates from 37 amphibian host species
across 18 studies on five continents: Africa, Oceania, Europe, and North and South America.
As the research community gathers information on additional isolates, the database will be updated periodically. The resulting database can serve as a conservation tool for amphibians and other organisms, and provides empirical data for comparative and bioinformatic studies.
The database consists of a FASTA file containing 16S rRNA gene sequences of the bacterial isolates, and a metadata file containing information on the host species, life-stage, geographic region, and antifungal capacity and taxonomic identity of the isolate.

Citation

Woodhams, D., Alford, R., Antwis, R., Archer, H., Becker, M., Belden, L., …et al. (2015). Antifungal isolates database of amphibian skin-associated bacteria and function against emerging fungal pathogens. Ecology, 96(2), 595. https://doi.org/10.1890/14-1837.1

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 18, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Feb 1, 2015
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Sep 28, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 5, 2016
• Journal: Ecology
• Print ISSN: 0012-9658
• Publisher: Ecological Society of America
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 96
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 595
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1890/14-1837.1
• Keywords: Amphibian, Antifungal, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, Culture database, Disease ecology, Microbiota, Probiotic therapy, Skin pathogens
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/14-1837.1
• Related Public URLs: http://www.esajournals.org/loi/ecol
• Additional Information: Funders : Biotechnology and Biosciences Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)