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Habitat disturbance influences the skin microbiome of a rediscovered neotropical-montane frog
Summary
Researchers studied the skin bacteria of a rediscovered montane frog in disturbed versus undisturbed habitats, finding that habitat degradation caused more chaotic and variable microbial communities — a pattern called dysbiosis. On the positive side, frogs in disturbed areas had higher levels of bacteria that may protect against the deadly chytrid fungus Bd, suggesting the frog's microbiome may be adapting to coexist with the pathogen over decades.
Our findings support the microbial "Anna Karenina principle", in which disturbance is hypothesized to cause greater microbial dispersion in communities, a so-called dysbiosis, which is a response of animal microbiomes to stress factors that decrease the ability of the host or its microbiome to regulate community composition. On the positive side, the high richness and relative abundance of putative Bd-inhibitory bacteria may indicate the development of a defense mechanism that enhances Bd-protection, attributed to a co-occurrence of more than 30-years of host and pathogen in these disturbed habitats. Our results provide important insight into the influence of human-modified landscapes on the skin microbiome and health implications of Bd-survivor species.
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