Symbiotic microbial communities on amphibian skin and their role in disease resistance

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All species of plants and animals harbor microbes (bacteria and fungi) that live symbiotically in and on them. How those microbes are related to the health of their host organisms is largely undetermined and, in particular, there is a limited understanding of how symbiotic microbes influence a host's ability to cope with disease-causing pathogens. The proposed research will use amphibians as a model system and a fungal skin pathogen that is linked to the decline of amphibian populations around the world. Different amphibian species are either highly susceptible or tolerant to disease caused by the fungal pathogen, and there is reasonable evidence to suggest that naturally occurring skin microbes may play an important role. This research will use both field observations from wild amphibian populations and a series of specific experiments that will be conducted in the laboratory. In the field, amphibians will be sampled for microbes to compare differences among species in pond habitats. In the lab, controlled experiments will examine how microbes on the skin respond to the pathogen over time and also how they respond to probiotic treatments (beneficial bacteria) in an effort to understand the ecology of the microorganisms that live on the skin. Novel high-throughput DNA sequencing techniques and innovative computer-based analysis tools will be used to examine the identity and composition of different bacterial and fungal groups in each sample.Broader Impacts: This research aims to advance our knowledge about the role of symbiotic skin microbes and how probiotic treatments can be developed for use in conservation of amphibians as well as a broad range of human and wildlife disease systems. The project will advance the research program of an early career scientist (PI) and support the training of a graduate student, a postdoctoral researcher, and undergraduates from under-represented backgrounds. All DNA sequence data and analytic tools produced during this project will be made available for use by other researchers. Boreal toads, an endangered amphibian species in Colorado, will serve as a focal species in this project and the PIs will build collaborations with the Boreal Toad Recovery Program in Colorado.