Abstract
The pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a major conservation concern because of its role in decimating amphibian populations worldwide. We used quantitative PCR to screen 244 museum specimens from the Korean Peninsula, collected between 1911 and 2004, for the presence of Bd to gain insight into its history in Asia. Three specimens of Rugosa emeljanovi (previously Rana or Glandirana rugosa), collected in 1911 from Wonsan, North Korea, tested positive for Bd. Histology of these positive specimens revealed mild hyperkeratosis – a non-specific host response commonly found in Bd-infected frogs – but no Bd zoospores or zoosporangia. Our results indicate that Bd was present in Korea more than 100 years ago, consistent with hypotheses suggesting that Korean amphibians may be infected by endemic Asian Bd strains.
Highlights
The pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is linked to declines or extinctions of more than 200 amphibian species worldwide [1,2,3]
Histological analysis of skin from the three specimens did not reveal the presence of Bd thalli or zoosporangia, but showed evidence of mild parakeratotic hyperkeratosis
We discovered three Bd-positive individuals out of 244 historical specimens (1.2%) from the Korean Peninsula
Summary
The pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is linked to declines or extinctions of more than 200 amphibian species worldwide [1,2,3]. While Bd is widespread in Asia [4,5,6,7], no epizootic events have been reported. Bd is present throughout Asia [5,6,7,11,12,13,14,15,16]. Korea [3,7,19,20], support the hypothesis that some Bd strains are endemic to Asia. Four studies have examined historical specimens in Asia [21,22,23,24,25,26], with detection in 1933 from China [25,26].
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