Experimental transmission and treatment of cutaneous chytridiomycosis in poison dart frogs (Dendrobates auratus and Dendrobates tinctorius)

摘要

Species of fungi in the Phylum Chytridiomycota (chytrids) commonly occur in water and moist soil. A fatal skin disease associated with cutaneous infection by chytrids has been recently described in many species of captive and wild anuran amphibians in the United States, Central America, South America, and Australia. Cutaneous chytridiomycosis appears to be an emergent disease that may be contributing to the global decline of wild amphibian populations. previously undescribed genus and species of chytrid, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (B. dendrobatidis), was originally isolated from a captive blue poison dart frog (Dendrobates azureus) that died at the National Zoological Park.3 This chytrid has also been isolated from other species of frogs and toads (J. Longcore, unpubl, data). The purposes of this series of experiments were to prove that B. dendrobatidis can cause fatal skin disease in dendrobatid frogs and to determine one or more methods that can be used to successfully treat cases of cutaneous chytridiomycosis.