Potential concerns with analytical methods used for the detection of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans from archived DNA of amphibian swab samples, Oregon, USA

Abstract

We report on the results of surveillance for the salamander chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal). Two samples from archived DNA used in a previous chytrid study in Oregon were Bsal-positive, alerting us to the first potential finding of this pathogen in North America, infecting American bullfrogs and rough-skinned newts. To confirm the finding, several additional diagnostic tests were conducted, with results that did not definitively confirm our positive finding and our gene sequencing suggested our DNA had differences from the European Bsal fungus. Insufficient sample quantity precluded further analyses. Because our results are also consistent with sample contamination, we cannot rule out a false positive result. We provide recommendations for diagnostic analyse for future Bsal testing, and follow-up surveillance to better understand if Bsal occurs at our study populations, or to assay if a similar yet unidentified fBsal-like pathogen might have been detected.

Citation

Iwanowicz, Deborah D.; Schill, William B.; Olson, Deanna H.; Adams, Michael J.; Densmore, Christine; Cornman, R. Scott; Adams, Cynthia; Figiel, Jr., Chester; Anderson, Chauncey W.; Blaustein, Andrew R.; Chestnut, Tara. 2017. Potential concerns with analytical methods used for the detection of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans from archived DNA of amphibian swab samples, Oregon, USA. Herpetological Review. 48(2): 352–355.