Soil bioaugmentation with amphibian cutaneous bacteria protects amphibian hosts from infection by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

Published source details Muletz C.R., Myers J.M., Domangue R.J., Herrick J.B. & Harris R.N. (2012) Soil bioaugmentation with amphibian cutaneous bacteria protects amphibian hosts from infection by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Biological Conservation, 152, 119–126.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

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	Use antifungal skin bacteria or peptides to reduce chytridiomycosis infection Action Link

Use antifungal skin bacteria or peptides to reduce chytridiomycosis infection

A randomized, replicated, controlled study in 2010 in a laboratory in Virginia, USA (Muletz et al. 2012) found that infection rate of red-backed salamanders Plethodon cinereus with chytridiomycosis was significantly lower following exposure to chytrid-inhibiting skin bacteria in the soil. Infection rate was 40% with exposure to the bacteria Janthinobacterium lividum compared to 83% without. All salamanders exposed tested positive for the skin bacteria up until day 29, but by day 42 it was no longer detected. Salamanders infected with chytrid had significantly higher densities of bacteria than uninfected individuals. Fifteen randomly selected wild caught salamanders were exposed to skin bacteria in soil followed by chytrid in solution. Twelve were exposed to chytrid alone, six to skin bacteria in soil alone and five were unexposed controls. Each tank received 150 g of soil, which had 1.5 ml of skin bacteria suspension (2.9 x 10⁷ colony-forming units/dry g soil) or pond water. Janthinobacterium lividum was isolated from the skin of four-toed salamanders Hemidactylium scutatum. Salamanders were tested for chytridiomycosis and the skin bacteria on days 8, 13, 20, 29 and 42.