title: Resistance to chytridiomycosis in European plethodontid salamanders of the genus Speleomantes.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pasmans
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van Rooij
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blooi
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tessa
authors.forename: Sergé
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bogaerts
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sotgiu
authors.forename: Trenton W J
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Garner
authors.forename: Matthew C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: Benedikt R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Tonnie
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Woeltjes
authors.forename: Wouter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Beukema
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bovero
authors.forename: Connie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Adriaensen
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Oneto
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ottonello
authors.forename: An
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martel
authors.forename: Sebastiano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salvidio
mesh_terms: D029845:Amphibian Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D008411:Chytridiomycota / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D060467:Disease Resistance; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009181:Mycoses / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D014562:Caudata / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D029845:Amphibian Proteins; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides