The bi-annual 26th Fungal Genetics Conference at Asilomar saw a flurry of
Bd-related activity being reported. Both Rhys Farrer (Imperial College) and Jason Staijch (UC Riverside) gave talks on the population genomics of
Bd from geographically and genetically diverse strains. Both studies report patchy distributions of diversity across
Bd's genome, likely owing to loss-of-heterozygosity events. Whether this results from meiotic or mitotic events remains to be seen. Jason reported the release of his comparative genomics tool,
FungiDB; this is going to be a great asset to the community, great stuff Jason! Posters were exhibited on putative virulence factors (the CBM18 chitin-binding domain gene expansion: Abramyan & Stajich), the distribution of Bd in British Columbia (LeBlanc, Hintz & Anholt), functional genomics of
Bd (Thomas Poorten & Rosenblum), the detection of rhodopsin-like genes in
Bd that are indicative of phototactic responses (Medina, Restrepo & Stajich) and the population genomics of Bd (Rhys Farrer et al). Well done to Rhys for winning a poster prize, '
Eukaryotic Cell' is a great bedtime read.....The poster abstracts can be downloaded
here.
A new study by Corina Geiger et al. (University of Zurich, Switzerland) that was recently published in the journal Amphibia-Reptilia shows that prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures clears chytrid fungus infection in tadpoles of the midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans).
Marc Sztatecsny and Florian Glaser have published the first survey of Bd from Austria in the Herpetological Journal 21:87-90. 30% of sampled sites are positive for 9 species including Bombina bombina. The study detected Bd at the highest site in the European Alps to date at 1630 m a.s.l. in Alpine newts. This data is now publically available on www.bd-maps.eu and the global mapping site Bd-Maps.net
Interest and excitement is gathering around the concept of mitigating the lethal effects of Bd by either reducing the threshold burden of infection, or by completely removing Bd from key infected environments. The Zurich Bd mitigation workshop was the first global meeting to address potential mitigation strategies by sharing experience and data, and planning new approaches as well as collaborations. Approaches that were considered in the workshop varied from (i) manipulating pre-epizootic host density; (ii) bioaugmentation with Bd-cidal probiotic bacteria; (iii) antifungal approaches to treating hosts and habitats; (iv) immunisation using recently-discovered hyovirulent/avirulent strains of Bd, or other vaccine technologies; (v) biocontrol with copepods or other zoospore-predators and (vi) ex-situ captive breeding followed by re-introduction with individuals that have undergone 'assisted evolution'. From the meeting, it was clear that not only are there many approaches that can be used, but also several ongoing programs. Indeed, the title for this post is the slogan coined by Jaime Bosch for his new Santander 'Zero' mitigation grant focusing on removing Bd from Mallorca and Alytes muletensis. Indeed, perhaps the time has come to 'Shiver Bd; the mitigators are coming!'. We anticipate appropriate mugs and T-shirts to appear in CafePress soon so stay tuned.....
