Archive for the News Category

Dr. Joe Madison was awarded the prestigious NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to join the Woodhams Lab, researching host-microbiome ecology. Joe’s project will test the hypothesis that microbial gut communities significantly vary in diversity and function both within and between amphibian assemblages over spatiotemporal gradients. This hypothesis will be tested by utilizing museum specimens and their associated land-use and land-cover (LULC) data from the Midwest and Northeast United States from the 1880s to present. Recently developed techniques for degraded DNA isolation, shotgun metagenomic sequencing, and bioinformatic machine-learning software will also be leveraged in the completion of this work.

Dr. Amanda Tokash-Peters has successfully defended her Ph.D. Thesis, “Mosquito Microbiomes: Understanding the Interface Between Microbiome, Environment, and Human Pathogens”. 

She is now an assistant professor at Centenary University. The Woodhams Lab wishes Amanda all the best in her journey!

Follow Amanda’s twitter for updates on her adventures- @ATPScienceGirl

In a new case study article, Amanda Tokash-Peters examines control and mitigation strategies based heavily on an ecological understanding of mosquitoes to prevent spread of illness. Several scenarios are provided exploring the balance between public and environmental health to elucidate the wide array of factors involved in global mosquito control efforts.

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Tokash-Peters, A. G., Tokash, I. W., Campos, A. J., Woodhams, D. C. 2019. Developing Effective Mosquito Control Strategies by Utilizing Vector Mosquito Life Histories and Ecology. Case Studies in the Environment 3 (1): 1–12. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/cse.2018.001743

In the new Animal Conservation paper “Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans elicits acute stress response in spotted salamanders but not infection or mortality”, Barnhart et al. examines the effects of Bsal infection in spotted salamanders. Upon Bsal exposure, spotted salamanders show no indication of infection- even across life stages and high and repeated doses of Bsal. However, a stress response involving an acute increase in corticosterone is observed upon exposure.

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Barnhart, K., Bletz, M.C., LaBumbard, B., Tokash‐Peters, A., Gabor, C.R. and Woodhams, D.C. (2020), Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans elicits acute stress response in spotted salamanders but not infection or mortality. Anim Conserv. doi:10.1111/acv.12565

In a new study, Dr. Woodhams and colleagues explored the impact of arthropod-bacterial interactions, and how this influences the host microbiome and pathogen load in Bd infected tadpoles. It is suggested that healthy ecosystem dynamics and host microbiome function are intrinsically linked- loss of arthropods may have downstream effects on host fitness and microbial pathogen defenses.

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Greenspan, S. E., Lyra, M. L., Migliorini, G. H., Kersch-Becker, M. F., Bletz, M. C., Lisboa, C. S., Pontes, M. R., Ribeiro, L. P., Neely, W. J., Rezende, F., Romero, G. Q., Woodhams, D. C., Haddad, C. F. B., Toledo, L. F. and Becker, C. G. 2019. Arthropod–bacteria interactions influence assembly of aquatic host microbiome and pathogen defense. Proc. R. Soc. B. 286(1905), p. 28620190924. http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0924

Nature Ecology and Evolution published a new collaborative study with UMass Boston researchers Jordan Kueneman, Molly Bletz, Rob Stevenson, and Doug Woodhams.  The study found that bioclimatic factors were important in shaping the skin microbiome of amphibians at a global scale. Samples from over 2,300 amphibians of 205 species were included in the study.

Kueneman JG, Bletz MC, McKenzie VJ, Becker CG, Joseph MB, Abarca JG, Archer H, Arellano AL, Bataille A, Becker M, Belden LK, Crottini A, Geffers R, Haddad CFB, Harris RN, Holden WM, Hughey M, Jarek M, Kearns PJ, Kerby JL, Kielgast J, Kurabayashi A, Longo AV, Loudon A, Medina D, Nuñez JJ, Perl RGB, Pinto-Tomás A, Rabemananjara FCE, Rebollar EA, Rodríguez A, Rollins-Smith L, Stevenson R, Tebbe CC, Vargas Asensio G, Waldman B, Walke JB, Whitfield SM, Zamudio KR, Zúñiga Chaves I, Woodhams DC, Vences M. (2019) Community richness of amphibian skin bacteria correlates with bioclimate at the global scale. Nat Ecol Evol. 2019 Mar;3(3):381-389.

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Microbial Ecology publishes on bacterial chemical compounds that inhibit a fungal pathogen in a new article by Dr. Douglas C. Woodhams, students, and collaborators from Germany, Colombia, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, and Villanova University.

Woodhams DC, LaBumbard BC, Barnhart KL, Becker MH, Bletz MC, Escobar LA, Flechas SV, Forman ME, Iannetta AA, Joyce MD, Rabemananjara F, Gratwicke B, Vences M, Minbiole KPC. (2018) Prodigiosin, violacein, and volatile organic compounds produced by widespread cutaneous bacteria of amphibians can inhibit two Batrachochytrium fungal pathogens. Microbial Ecology, 75(4):1049-1062. doi: 10.1007/s00248-017-1095-7

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The invited review for the Encyclopedia of Life provides an overview and comparison of the two chytrid pathogens of amphibians and provides insight into disease management. Contributors include 5 students in the Woodhams lab.

Woodhams, D.C., Barnhart, K.L., Bletz, M.C., Campos, A.J., Ganem, S.J., Hertz, A., LaBumbard, B.C., Nanjappa, P. and Tokash‐Peters, A.G. (2020). Batrachochytrium: Biology and Management of Amphibian Chytridiomycosis. In eLS, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd (Ed.). doi:10.1002/9780470015902.a0027207

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We believe that everyone has a Plant Love Story: a story about how plants have shaped your life. We’re collecting these stories to show how plants affect us all. Please share your story!

https://www.plantlovestories.com/blank-2/2018/04/04/The-viper-leaves

Read about the study in the New York Times featured by Carl Zimmer, A Few Species of Frogs That Vanished May Be on the Rebound.

Also on ScienceNews: Some frogs may be bouncing back after killer chytrid fungus (featured by Susan Milius), UMass Boston News, and Commentary in Science by Prof. Jim Collins, Arizona State University, “Change is Key to Frog Survival”.