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Cryptic diversity of a widespread global pathogen reveals expanded threats to amphibian conservation.

ABSTRACT: Biodiversity loss is one major outcome of human-mediated ecosystem disturbance. One way that humans have triggered wildlife declines is by transporting disease-causing agents to remote areas of the world. Amphibians have been hit particularly hard by disease due in part to a globally distributed pathogenic chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis [Bd]). Prior research has revealed important insights into the biology and distribution of Bd; however, there are still many outstanding questions in this system. Although we know that there are multiple divergent lineages of Bd that differ in pathogenicity, we know little about how these lineages are distributed around the world and where lineages may be coming into contact. Here, we implement a custom genotyping method for a global set of Bd samples. This method is optimized to amplify and sequence degraded DNA from noninvasive skin swab samples. We describe a divergent lineage of Bd, which we call BdASIA3, that appears to be widespread in Southeast Asia. This lineage co-occurs with the global panzootic lineage (BdGPL) in multiple localities. Additionally, we shed light on the global distribution of BdGPL and highlight the expanded range of another lineage, BdCAPE. Finally, we argue that more monitoring needs to take place where Bd lineages are coming into contact and where we know little about Bd lineage diversity. Monitoring need not use expensive or difficult field techniques but can use archived swab samples to further explore the history-and predict the future impacts-of this devastating pathogen.

SUBMITTER: Byrne AQ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6789904 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Cryptic diversity of a widespread global pathogen reveals expanded threats to amphibian conservation.

Byrne Allison Q AQ Vredenburg Vance T VT Martel An A Pasmans Frank F Bell Rayna C RC Blackburn David C DC Bletz Molly C MC Bosch Jaime J Briggs Cheryl J CJ Brown Rafe M RM Catenazzi Alessandro A Familiar López Mariel M Figueroa-Valenzuela Raul R Ghose Sonia L SL Jaeger Jef R JR Jani Andrea J AJ Jirku Miloslav M Knapp Roland A RA Muñoz Antonio A Portik Daniel M DM Richards-Zawacki Corinne L CL Rockney Heidi H Rovito Sean M SM Stark Tariq T Sulaeman Hasan H Tao Nguyen Thien NT Voyles Jamie J Waddle Anthony W AW Yuan Zhiyong Z Rosenblum Erica Bree EB

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20190923 41

Biodiversity loss is one major outcome of human-mediated ecosystem disturbance. One way that humans have triggered wildlife declines is by transporting disease-causing agents to remote areas of the world. Amphibians have been hit particularly hard by disease due in part to a globally distributed pathogenic chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis [Bd]). Prior research has revealed important insights into the biology and distribution of Bd; however, there are still many ...[more]

PMID: 31548391

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Project description:BACKGROUND: Ecosystem engineers facilitate habitat formation and enhance biodiversity, but when they become invasive, they present a critical threat to native communities because they can drastically alter the receiving habitat. Management of such species thus needs to be a priority, but the poorly resolved taxonomy of many ecosystem engineers represents a major obstacle to correctly identifying them as being either native or introduced. We address this dilemma by studying the sea squirt Pyura stolonifera, an important ecosystem engineer that dominates coastal communities particularly in the southern hemisphere. Using DNA sequence data from four independently evolving loci, we aimed to determine levels of cryptic diversity, the invasive or native status of each regional population, and the most appropriate sampling design for identifying the geographic ranges of each evolutionary unit. RESULTS: Extensive sampling in Africa, Australasia and South America revealed the existence of "nested" levels of cryptic diversity, in which at least five distinct species can be further subdivided into smaller-scale genetic lineages. The ranges of several evolutionary units are limited by well-documented biogeographic disjunctions. Evidence for both cryptic native diversity and the existence of invasive populations allows us to considerably refine our view of the native versus introduced status of the evolutionary units within Pyura stolonifera in the different coastal communities they dominate. CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrates the degree of taxonomic complexity that can exist within widespread species for which there is little taxonomic expertise, and it highlights the challenges involved in distinguishing between indigenous and introduced populations. The fact that multiple genetic lineages can be native to a single geographic region indicates that it is imperative to obtain samples from as many different habitat types and biotic zones as possible when attempting to identify the source region of a putative invader. "Nested" cryptic diversity, and the difficulties in correctly identifying invasive species that arise from it, represent a major challenge for managing biodiversity.

Dataset Information

Cryptic diversity of a widespread global pathogen reveals expanded threats to amphibian conservation.

Publications

Cryptic diversity of a widespread global pathogen reveals expanded threats to amphibian conservation.

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