The cythrid fungus is, in the opinion of most biologists, the main culprit that hundreds of amphibian species are on the brink of extinction.
And it is that in a few decades, this pathogen, which is lethal for these animals, has caused their massive disappearance. Now, a team of researchers coordinated by scientists from the universities of Tampa and South Florida, in the US, has revealed in the journal Nature that they can develop different types of resistance to this threat.
According to the biologist Jason Rohr, who has coordinated the study, “the acquisition of resistance , whether of an immune type or related to behavior, is extremely important , since they are the basis from which a special type of campaign is designed. vaccination in which if it is possible to immunize a group of specimens, it is possible to protect all of them ”.
In their experiments, these experts observed that after a single exposure to the fungus, the animals were able to learn to avoid it.
Moreover, in those cases in which they could not do so, their immune response improved , thereby increasing the amphibians’ survival against future infections. “Until now, cythrid was believed to suppress the immune response, so it was highly doubtful that frogs and toads, for example, could develop effective protection,” says Rohr.
“However, our results suggest that this occurs, and that it can be imposed on the effects of the fungus.” In his opinion, variations in the degree of acquired resistance could explain why some populations are more affected than others.
“Our trial suggests that to protect amphibians we could expose a group of them to the dead fungus or its antigens . Once they were resistant to it, it would be easier to reintroduce their populations even in enclaves where the pathogen was found ”, emphasizes Rohr.
“In fact, a similar system could be used in other animals that have to deal with similar threats, such as bats, bees or snakes.”
