Archive for the News Category

Dr. Woodhams contributed expertise on Panamanian amphibians to a risk assessment and probability of avoiding extinctions through captive breeding programs. The expert assessment approach refines priorities for captive amphibian programs in Panama and identifies priority conservation actions with a clearer understanding of the probability of success.

Gratwicke B, Ross H, Batista A, Chaves G, Crawford AJ, Lara LE, Estrada A, Evans M, Garelle D, Guerrel J, Hertz A, Hughey M, Jaramillo CA, Klocke B, Mandica M, Medina D*, Richards-Zawacki CL, Ryan MJ, Sosa-Bartuano A, Voyles J, Walker B, Woodhams DC, Ibañez R. 2015. Evaluating the probability of avoiding disease-related extinctions of Panamanian amphibians through captive breeding programs. Animal Conservation, in press.

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Two of Dr. Woodhams’ students, Jonathan Benney and Nikhil Illa, got creative for an extra credit project in Dr. Woodhams’ Infectious Disease Ecology class.  Thier video/rap outlines the lifecycle of the protozoa Plasmodium, the disease agent of Malaria.

In this study, Woodhams and collaborators at the University of Colorado, Boulder led by Jordan Kueneman (now Ph.D.), used high-throughput 16S and 18S rRNA gene sequencing (Illumina MiSeq) to characterize bacteria and microeukaryotes from boreal toads. Life stage had the strongest influence on the skin microbiome. Fewer Bd-inhibitory bacteria were detected in post-metamorphic stages correlating with increased skin fungi, suggesting that bacteria have a strong role in early development and reduce skin-associated fungi.

Kueneman JG, Woodhams DC, Van Treuren W, Archer HM, Knight R, McKenzie VJ. (2016) Inhibitory bacteria reduce fungi on early life stages of endangered Colorado boreal toads (Anaxyrus boreas). The ISME Journal. 10:934-944.

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Dr. Woodhams received the 2015 UMass Boston Endowed Faculty Career Development Award.  His proposal, Controlling Amphibian Disease with Skin Microbiota, aims to identify the volatile organic compounds produced by amphibian skin bacteria which can kill the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd).  UMass Chancellor J. Keith Motley, Provost Winston E. Langley, Dean of the College of Science and Math Dr. Andrew J. Grosovsky, and Department Head Rick Kesseli were in attendance for the award presentation at the annual UMass Retired Faculty Luncheon.

Dr. Woodhams was awarded $25,000 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Amphibians in Decline Program for his proposal, Priming Immune Function of Endangered Panama Golden Frogs Prior to Reintroduction.  The project targets treatments at the tadpole stage of the now extinct-in-the-wild Atelopus zeteki that will be housed in an automated flow-through aquatics system at UMass Boston. Successful disease management treatments will be applied prior to reintroduction efforts in Panama.

A collaboration with researchers at University of New Mexico, this study provides a topographical map of the mucosal microbiome of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Using 16S rRNA pyrosequencing and confocal microscopy, Dr. Woodhams et. al. reveal novel bacterial diversity at each of the five body sites sampled and show that body site is a strong predictor of community composition.

Lowry L, Woodhams DC, Tacchi L, Salinas I. (2015) Topographical mapping of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) microbiome reveals a diverse bacterial community in the skin with antifungal properties. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 81:6915-6925.

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In a new study, southern leopard frogs (Lithobates sphenocephala) treated with an antibiotic cocktail which eliminated their skin microbes were more likely to be affected by the chytrid fungus, whereas frogs that maintained their normal skin microbes fared better against the fungus.

Holden WM, Hanlon SM, Woodhams DC, Chappell TM, Wells HL, Glisson SM, McKenzie VJ, Knight R, Parris MJ, Rollins-Smith LA. (2015) Skin bacteria provide early protection for newly metamorphosed southern leopard frogs (Rana sphenocephala) against the frog-killing fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Biological Conservation, 187, 91-102.

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A collaborative effort of 26 investigators, led by Dr. Doug Woodhams, has put together a culture collection and database of bacteria associated with the skin of amphibians from North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Oceania. All isolates were tested for activity against the chytrid fungus responsible for disease emergence and amphibian die-offs around the world. This growing database will allow researchers to identify native beneficial bacteria that can be used for probiotic therapies against the fungus.

Woodhams DC and 25 co-authors (2015) Antifungal isolates database of amphibian skin-associated bacteria and function against emerging fungal pathogens. Ecology, 96:595.

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Becker et al. characterized over 450 bacterial isolates from the skins of Panamanian amphibian species and tested them for antifungal function. Antifungal isolates were widely distributed among all bacterial phyla, with high proportions in three genera: Stenotrophomonas, Aeromonas, and Pseudomonas.

Becker M, Walke J, Murrill L, Woodhams DC, Reinert L, Rollins-Smith L, Burzynski E, Umile T, Minbiole K, Belden L. (2015) Microbiol Phylogenetic distribution of symbiotic bacteria from Panamanian amphibians that inhibit growth of the lethal fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Molecular Ecology

 

A student from Ecuador, Jorge Bresciano, published his research on bacteria from tadpoles and adult frogs across field sites ranging from Amazonian rainforest to Andes montane rainforest. He discovered Janthinobacterium lividum among other bacteria thought to reduce susceptibility to the emerging disease chytridiomycosis.

Bresciano JC, Salvador CA, Paz-Y-Miño C, Parody-Merino AM, Bosch J, Woodhams DC. (2015) Variation in the presence of anti-Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis bacteria of amphibians across life stages and elevations in Ecuador. EcoHealth