HYDERABAD: Researchers from the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), in collaboration with researchers in Australia and Panama have established a new test for successful diagnosis of Chytridiomycosis.
Often referred to as the driver of the ‘amphibian apocalypse’, Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease that has driven more than 90 amphibian species to extinction globally. It is caused by two fungal pathogens: Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal).
The researchers have developed and validated a new marker for the disease which has been published in ‘Transboundary and Emerging Diseases’.The team, comprising research scholars, researchers and scientists from CCMB, Bangalore University, Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park, Ashoka University, University of New South Wales, James Cook University and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, have tested the new marker on several amphibian species including frogs, toads, caecilians (limbless amphibians) and salamanders (tailed amphibians).
The study reported 70% of amphibians with Chytridiomycosis infection, almost eight times higher prevalence than earlier. “Our diagnostic test works well in India, Australia and Panama,” said Dr Karthikeyan Vasudevan, lead scientist from CCMB.