Skin defenses and host-environment microbiome interactions in spotted salamanders.

Emerging infectious diseases have been of particular interest as a major threat to global biodiversity. In amphibians, two fungal sister taxa, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) along with the viral pathogen ranavirus have affected global populations. Factors such as host traits, abiotic and biotic environmental conditions, and pathogen prevalence contribute to species specific disease susceptibility.

Host population dynamics influence Leptospira spp. transmission patterns among Rattus norvegicus in Boston, Massachusetts, US.

Leptospirosis (caused by pathogenic bacteria in the genus Leptospira) is prevalent worldwide but more common in tropical and subtropical regions. Transmission can occur following direct exposure to infected urine from reservoir hosts, or a urine-contaminated environment, which then can serve as an infection source for additional rats and other mammals, including humans. The brown rat, Rattus norvegicus, is an important reservoir of Leptospira spp.

Probiotic colonization of skin causes short-term changes in skin microbiomes and gene expression.

Probiotic therapies have been suggested for amelioration efforts of wildlife disease such as chytridiomycosis caused by spp. in amphibians. However, there is a lack of information on how probiotic application affects resident microbial communities and immune responses.

Shotgun metagenomics captures more microbial diversity than targeted 16S rRNA gene sequencing for field specimens and preserved museum specimens.

The use of museum specimens for research in microbial evolutionary ecology remains an under-utilized investigative dimension with important potential. Despite this potential, there remain barriers in methodology and analysis to the wide-spread adoption of museum specimens for such studies. Here, we hypothesized that there would be significant differences in taxonomic prediction and related diversity among sample type (museum or fresh) and sequencing strategy (medium-depth shotgun metagenomic or 16S rRNA gene).

Responsible biosecurity and risk mitigation for laboratory research on emerging pathogens of amphibians.

The increasing study of emerging wildlife pathogens and a lack of policy or legislation regulating their translocation and use has heightened concerns about laboratory escape, species spillover, and subsequent epizootics among animal populations. Responsible self-regulation by research laboratories, in conjunction with institutional-level safeguards, has an important role in mitigating pathogen transmission and spillover, as well as potential interspecies pathogenesis. A model system in disease ecology that highlights these concerns and related amelioration efforts is research focused on amphibian emerging infectious diseases.

Invasion of Endometrial Cancer Cells.

Recent evidence suggests an association between endometrial cancer and the understudied bacterial species . This association was demonstrated in previous work that indicated a significantly enriched abundance of in the uterine microbiome of endometrial cancer patients. Given the known associations of the genus and oral cancer, we hypothesized that may play a similar pathogenic role in endometrial cancer via intracellular activity.

Analysis of DNA methylation in endometrial biopsies to predict risk of endometrial cancer.

Objective: To determine whether analysis of methylated DNA in benign endometrial biopsy (EB) specimens is associated with risk of endometrial cancer (EC).

Methods: We identified 23 women with EBs performed at Mayo Clinic diagnosed as normal (n = 14) or hyperplasia (n = 9) and who later developed endometrial cancer after a median interval of 1 year. Cases were matched 1:1 with patients with benign EBs who did not develop EC (controls) by histology of benign EB (normal endometrium vs.

shapes cutaneous bacterial communities and influences survival of an amphibian host.

Ongoing investigations into the interactions between microbial communities and their associated hosts are changing how emerging diseases are perceived and ameliorated. Of the numerous host-microbiome-disease systems of study, the emergence of chytridiomycosis (caused by , hereafter ) has been implicated in ongoing declines and extinction events of amphibians worldwide. Interestingly, there has been differential survival among amphibians in resisting infection and subsequent disease.

Design- and model-based recommendations for detecting and quantifying an amphibian pathogen in environmental samples.

Accurate pathogen detection is essential for developing management strategies to address emerging infectious diseases, an increasingly prominent threat to wildlife. Sampling for free-living pathogens outside of their hosts has benefits for inference and study efficiency, but is still uncommon. We used a laboratory experiment to evaluate the influences of pathogen concentration, water type, and qPCR inhibitors on the detection and quantification of () using water filtration.

Characterization of Inhibiting Bacteria from Amphibian Populations in Costa Rica.

Global amphibian declines and extinction events are occurring at an unprecedented rate. While several factors are responsible for declines and extinction, the fungal pathogen () has been cited as a major constituent in these events. While the effects of this chytrid fungus have been shown to cause broad scale population declines and extinctions, certain individuals and relict populations have shown resistance.