Antimicrobial Peptide Defenses in Amphibian Skin

生物学家对一个新的“寂静之春”的可能性感到震惊。这一次，鸟儿将歌唱，但许多常见的青蛙和蟾蜍(两栖动物)可能不会在晚上歌唱。有可能让青蛙和蟾蜍安静下来的杀手是一种侵入皮肤的真菌。一些两栖动物物种似乎对这种真菌更具抵抗力，因为它们能够将小的保护性蛋白(抗菌肽)分泌到皮肤表面。这项研究将确定健康的两栖动物产生的抗菌肽的数量，这些抗菌肽排到皮肤上后的恢复率，以及这些抗菌肽在皮肤上保持有效的时间。一些实验将测试洗涤或耗尽多肽是否会使两栖动物更容易受到真菌的影响。这种真菌本身可能会引起青蛙的反应，产生更多的抗菌肽，或者对皮肤的伤害可能会导致保护性多肽的产生减少。这项研究将测量暴露在真菌或细菌中的多肽数量是增加还是减少。由于拥挤或其他环境变化，包括寒冷的温度，青蛙和蟾蜍可能会受到压力。这项研究将确定这些自然压力如何影响抗菌肽的产生和对真菌的敏感性。结果可能会为野生动物物种的管理提供更好的策略，以保护它们。它将培训学生在免疫学和保护领域。

Biologists are alarmed by the possibility of a new "silent spring". This time the birds will be singing, but many of the common frogs and toads (amphibians) may not be singing at night. The killer that has the potential to silence the frogs and toads is a fungus that invades the skin. Some amphibian species seem to be more resistant to the fungus due to their ability to secrete small protective proteins (antimicrobial peptides) onto the skin surface. This study will determine the amount of antimicrobial peptides made by healthy amphibians, the rate of restoration after the peptides are discharged onto the skin, and the time the peptides remain effective on the skin. Some experiments will test whether washing away or depleting the peptides will make the amphibians more susceptible to the fungus. The fungus, itself, could provoke a response from the frog to make more antimicrobial peptides, or the injury to the skin could result in production of less of the protective peptides. This study will measure whether peptide amounts increase or decrease after exposure to the fungus or to bacteria. Frogs and toads can be stressed due to crowding or other environmental changes including cold temperature. This study will determine how these natural stresses affect production of antimicrobial peptides and susceptibility to the fungus. Results may suggest better strategies for management of wildlife species to preserve them. It will train students in the field of immunology and conservation.