Understanding links between microbial communities and emerging fungal pathogens in complex ecosystem

了解复杂生态系统中微生物群落与新兴真菌病原体之间的联系

• 批准号: NE/S000844/1
• 负责人: Matthew Fisher
• 金额: $ 50.24万
• 依托单位: Imperial College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2018 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FS000844%2F1
• 关键词: Understanding; links; between; microbial; communities

Modern-day amphibians are known to be suffering rates of extinction that far exceed any other class of vertebrates, including those experienced by mammals and birds, and nearly one third of amphibian species are threatened. The question of why amphibians are going extinct at these accelerated rates has puzzled scientists for three decades. A clue to the mystery came about when scientists working in Central America and Australia noted that the rapid declines in amphibian biodiversity were spreading in a wave-like manner. These patterns of decline were caused by an emerging infectious disease and in 1997 researchers discovered that a fungal pathogen, called a 'chytrid', was the cause, naming it Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Since then, our research has identified South East Asia as the cradle of this amphibian pandemic, and has mapped the spread of Bd worldwide At the same time, alongside finding regions of the world where Bd is highly pathogenic, we have also discovered places where it is not causing any obvious disease which begs the question Why?Increasingly, we find that the invasion, establishment and amplification of Bd in uninfected amphibians is strongly influence by the microbial communities that are found inhabiting the skins of amphibians. As Alexander Fleming famously discovered, microbes predate and attack one another with a diverse array of strategies and our research seeks to understand how this microbial warfare influences whether an amphibian community survives, or succumbs, to its infection. This question will be addressed by using high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies to characterise the microbes on amphibians around the world using molecular barcoding techniques. Our main idea is that the amphibians that survive infection infection are 'clothed' by a protective community of bacteria and fungi. We will show whether this it true, then will attempt to identify the toxic molecules that are protecting the amphibians from their chytrid onslaught.Finally, we will seek to isolate and grow microbes that are protective against Bd - sometimes called 'probiotics'. Here, we will extend our focus to include fungi because (and as Fleming showed) they can be very potent protectors against invasive organisms. We already have isolated candidate fungal 'promycotics', and we will use experiments to determine whether they do in fact protect amphibians against lethal infection by Bd; such promycotics may then offer a much-needed biocontrol against emerging pathogens such as Bd. This, ultimately, is the major applied goal of our project.

现代两栖动物的灭绝速度远远超过任何其他脊椎动物，包括哺乳动物和鸟类，近三分之一的两栖动物物种受到威胁。为什么两栖动物以如此快的速度灭绝，这个问题困扰了科学家三十年。当在中美洲和澳大利亚工作的科学家们注意到两栖动物生物多样性的迅速下降正在以波浪式的方式蔓延时，这个谜团的线索就出现了。这些下降的模式是由一种新出现的传染病引起的，1997年，研究人员发现一种名为“壶菌”的真菌病原体是原因，将其命名为Batrachochytrium dendrobatium（Bd）。从那时起，我们的研究已经确定东南亚是这种两栖动物大流行病的摇篮，并绘制了世界范围内Bd的传播图。同时，除了发现世界上Bd具有高致病性的地区外，我们还发现了它没有引起任何明显疾病的地方，这就引出了一个问题，为什么？我们越来越多地发现，Bd在未感染的两栖动物中的入侵、建立和扩增受到栖息在两栖动物皮肤上的微生物群落的强烈影响。正如亚历山大·弗莱明（Alexander Fleming）的著名发现，微生物以各种各样的策略相互捕食和攻击，我们的研究旨在了解这种微生物战争如何影响两栖动物群落的生存或屈服于其感染。这个问题将通过使用高通量DNA测序技术来解决，以使用分子条形码技术来鉴定世界各地两栖动物上的微生物。我们的主要想法是，在感染中幸存下来的两栖动物被细菌和真菌的保护性群落所“覆盖”。我们将证明这是否属实，然后将试图确定保护两栖动物免受壶菌攻击的有毒分子。最后，我们将试图分离和培养保护免受Bd的微生物-有时称为“益生菌”。在这里，我们将扩大我们的重点，包括真菌，因为（正如弗莱明所示）它们可以是非常有效的保护者，防止入侵生物。我们已经分离出了候选的真菌“原真菌”，我们将使用实验来确定它们是否真的能保护两栖动物免受Bd的致命感染;这样的原真菌可能会提供急需的生物防治，以对抗新出现的病原体，如Bd。这最终是我们项目的主要应用目标。

项目成果

Cross-Disciplinary Genomics Approaches to Studying Emerging Fungal Infections.

• DOI: 10.3390/life10120315
• 发表时间: 2020-11-28
• 期刊: Life (Basel, Switzerland)
• 作者: Ghosh PN;Brookes LM;Edwards HM;Fisher MC;Jervis P;Kappel D;Sewell TR;Shelton JMG;Skelly E;Rhodes JL
• 通讯作者: Rhodes JL

Microbiome function predicts amphibian chytridiomycosis disease dynamics.

• DOI: 10.1186/s40168-021-01215-6
• 发表时间: 2022-03-10
• 期刊: Microbiome
• 影响因子: 15.5
• 作者: Bates KA;Sommer U;Hopkins KP;Shelton JMG;Wierzbicki C;Sergeant C;Tapley B;Michaels CJ;Schmeller DS;Loyau A;Bosch J;Viant MR;Harrison XA;Garner TWJ;Fisher MC
• 通讯作者: Fisher MC

Amphibian chytrid fungus in Africa - realigning hypotheses and the research paradigm

非洲的两栖壶菌——重新调整假设和研究范式

• DOI: 10.1111/acv.12538
• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: Animal Conservation
• 影响因子: 3.4
• 作者: Doherty-Bone T

Microplastics increase susceptibility of amphibian larvae to the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.

• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01973-1
• 发表时间: 2021-11-17
• 期刊: Scientific reports
• 影响因子: 4.6
• 作者: Bosch J;Thumsová B;López-Rojo N;Pérez J;Alonso A;Fisher MC;Boyero L
• 通讯作者: Boyero L

Chytridiomycosis Outbreak in a Chilean Giant Frog (Calyptocephalella gayi) Captive Breeding Program: Genomic Characterization and Pathological Findings.

• DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2021.733357
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Frontiers in veterinary science
• 影响因子: 3.2
• 作者: Alvarado-Rybak M;Acuña P;Peñafiel-Ricaurte A;Sewell TR;O'Hanlon SJ;Fisher MC;Valenzuela-Sánchez A;Cunningham AA;Azat C
• 通讯作者: Azat C