Graziella V. DiRenzo Stephanie A. Yarwood Evan H. Campbell Grant Robert C. Fleischer Karen R. Lips Carly R. Muletz-Wolz 2017 <p><span>Diverse bacteria inhabit amphibian skin; some of those bacteria inhibit growth of the fungal pathogen </span><span id="named-content-1" class="named-content genus-species">Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis</span><span>. Yet there has been no systematic survey of anti-</span><span id="named-content-2" class="named-content genus-species">B. dendrobatidis</span><span> bacteria across localities, species, and elevations. This is important given geographic and taxonomic variations in amphibian susceptibility to </span><span id="named-content-3" class="named-content genus-species">B. dendrobatidis</span><span>. Our collection sites were at locations within the Appalachian Mountains where previous sampling had indicated low </span><span id="named-content-4" class="named-content genus-species">B. dendrobatidis</span><span> prevalence. We determined the numbers and identities of anti-</span><span id="named-content-5" class="named-content genus-species">B. dendrobatidis</span><span> bacteria on 61 </span><span id="named-content-6" class="named-content genus-species">Plethodon</span><span> salamanders (37 </span><span id="named-content-7" class="named-content genus-species">P. cinereus</span><span>, 15 </span><span id="named-content-8" class="named-content genus-species">P. glutinosus</span><span>, 9 </span><span id="named-content-9" class="named-content genus-species">P. cylindraceus</span><span>) via culturing methods and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We sampled co-occurring species at three localities and sampled </span><span id="named-content-10" class="named-content genus-species">P. cinereus</span><span> along an elevational gradient (700 to 1,000 meters above sea level [masl]) at one locality. We identified 50 anti-</span><span id="named-content-11" class="named-content genus-species">B. dendrobatidis</span><span> bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and found that the degree of </span><span id="named-content-12" class="named-content genus-species">B. dendrobatidis</span><span> inhibition was not correlated with relatedness. Five anti-</span><span id="named-content-13" class="named-content genus-species">B. dendrobatidis</span><span> bacterial strains occurred on multiple amphibian species at multiple localities, but none were shared among all species and localities. The prevalence of anti-</span><span id="named-content-14" class="named-content genus-species">B. dendrobatidis</span><span> bacteria was higher at Shenandoah National Park (NP), VA, with 96% (25/26) of salamanders hosting at least one anti-</span><span id="named-content-15" class="named-content genus-species">B. dendrobatidis</span><span> bacterial species compared to 50% (7/14) at Catoctin Mountain Park (MP), MD, and 38% (8/21) at Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area (NRA), VA. At the individual level, salamanders at Shenandoah NP had more anti-</span><span id="named-content-16" class="named-content genus-species">B. dendrobatidis</span><span> bacteria per individual (μ = 3.3) than those at Catoctin MP (μ = 0.8) and at Mt. Rogers NRA (μ = 0.4). All salamanders tested negative for </span><span id="named-content-17" class="named-content genus-species">B. dendrobatidis</span><span>. Anti-</span><span id="named-content-18" class="named-content genus-species">B. dendrobatidis</span><span> bacterial species are diverse in central Appalachian </span><span id="named-content-19" class="named-content genus-species">Plethodon</span><span> salamanders, and their distribution varied geographically. The antifungal bacterial species that we identified may play a protective role for these salamanders.</span></p> application/pdf 10.1128/AEM.00186-17 en American Society for Microbiology Antifungal bacteria on woodland salamander skin exhibit high taxonomic diversity and geographic variability article