Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (/bəˌtreɪkoʊˈkɪtriəm ˈdɛndroʊbətaɪdɪs/ bə-TRAY-koh-KIT-ree-əm DEN-droh-bə-ty-dis), also known as Bd or the amphibian chytrid fungus, is a fungus that causes the disease chytridiomycosis in amphibians.
| Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis | |
|---|---|
| Zoosporangia of B. dendrobatidis growing on a freshwater arthropod (a) and algae (b); scale bars = 30 µm | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Chytridiomycota |
| Class: | Chytridiomycetes |
| Order: | Rhizophydiales |
| Family: | Batrachochytriaceae |
| Genus: | Batrachochytrium |
| Species: | B. dendrobatidis |
| Binomial name | |
| Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Longcore, Pessier & D.K. Nichols (1999) | |
Since its discovery in 1998 by Lee Berger, the disease devastated amphibian populations around the world, in a global decline towards multiple extinctions, part of the Holocene extinction. A recently described second species, B. salamandrivorans, also causes chytridiomycosis and death in salamanders.
The fungal pathogens that cause the disease chytridiomycosis ravage the skin of frogs, toads, and other amphibians, throwing off their balance of water and salt and eventually causing heart failure, Nature reports. Some amphibian species appear to have an innate capacity to withstand chytridiomycosis infection due to symbiosis with Janthinobacterium lividum. Even within species that generally succumb, some populations survive, possibly demonstrating that these traits or alleles of species are being subjected to evolutionary selection.