| Title |
Amphibian Chemical Defense: Antifungal Metabolites of the Microsymbiont Janthinobacterium lividum on the Salamander Plethodon cinereus
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Journal of Chemical Ecology, October 2008
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s10886-008-9555-7 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Robert M. Brucker, Reid N. Harris, Christian R. Schwantes, Thomas N. Gallaher, Devon C. Flaherty, Brianna A. Lam, Kevin P. C. Minbiole |
| Abstract |
Disease has spurred declines in global amphibian populations. In particular, the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has decimated amphibian diversity in some areas unaffected by habitat loss. However, there is little evidence to explain how some amphibian species persist despite infection or even clear the pathogen beyond detection. One hypothesis is that certain bacterial symbionts on the skin of amphibians inhibit the growth of the pathogen. An antifungal strain of Janthinobacterium lividum, isolated from the skin of the red-backed salamander Plethodon cinereus, produces antifungal metabolites at concentrations lethal to B. dendrobatidis. Antifungal metabolites were identified by using reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography, high resolution mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, and UV-Vis spectroscopy and tested for efficacy of inhibiting the pathogen. Two metabolites, indole-3-carboxaldehyde and violacein, inhibited the pathogen's growth at relatively low concentrations (68.9 and 1.82 microM, respectively). Analysis of fresh salamander skin confirmed the presence of J. lividum and its metabolites on the skin of host salamanders in concentrations high enough to hinder or kill the pathogen (51 and 207 microM, respectively). These results support the hypothesis that cutaneous, mutualistic bacteria play a role in amphibian resistance to fungal disease. Exploitation of this biological process may provide long-term resistance to B. dendrobatidis for vulnerable amphibians and serve as a model for managing future emerging diseases in wildlife populations. |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 389 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 9 | 2% |
| Brazil | 4 | 1% |
| France | 1 | <1% |
| Panama | 1 | <1% |
| Portugal | 1 | <1% |
| Mexico | 1 | <1% |
| Hungary | 1 | <1% |
| Spain | 1 | <1% |
| Poland | 1 | <1% |
| Other | 0 | 0% |
| Unknown | 369 | 95% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 85 | 22% |
| Student > Bachelor | 76 | 20% |
| Researcher | 58 | 15% |
| Student > Master | 51 | 13% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 26 | 7% |
| Other | 47 | 12% |
| Unknown | 46 | 12% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 198 | 51% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 49 | 13% |
| Environmental Science | 25 | 6% |
| Immunology and Microbiology | 21 | 5% |
| Chemistry | 13 | 3% |
| Other | 24 | 6% |
| Unknown | 59 | 15% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 14. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 21 October 2023.
All research outputs
#2,700,072
of 25,837,817 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Chemical Ecology
#131
of 2,229 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#8,043
of 105,566 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Chemical Ecology
#1
of 8 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,837,817 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 89th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,229 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.4. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 92% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 105,566 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 91% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 8 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has scored higher than all of them