Meta-analysis showing that immunisation is an effective method to reduce amphibian susceptibility to the chytrid fungus

Fuente: Zenodo
Enregistré dans:
Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Chung, Meng-Han
Format: Recurso digital
Publié: Zenodo 2026
Sujets:
Accès en ligne:
Tags: Ajouter un tag
Pas de tags, Soyez le premier à ajouter un tag!
_version_ 1866901601022640128
author Chung, Meng-Han
author_facet Chung, Meng-Han
contents <p>Emerging infectious diseases are increasingly causing mortality in vertebrates, driving widespread population declines in some species. Amphibian chytridiomycosis is a lethal fungal disease that has caused population collapses and extinctions worldwide. Identifying approaches that can effectively enhance host survival is therefore an urgent conservation priority. Here, we investigate whether immunising individuals against chytrid is an effective strategy. We synthesised evidence from 223 effect sizes (53 experiments across 36 studies and 22 species) to evaluate how susceptibility to <em>Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis</em> (infection rates, infection intensity, mortality) differed between experimentally immunised and non-immunised individuals that were subsequently exposed to live chytrid. Individuals immunised by exposure to live chytrid, their cell-free compounds, or synthetic antiparasitics consistently had reduced disease susceptibility follow re-exposure, although effectiveness varied across the stages of disease progression, depended on life stage, and varied among taxonomic groups. In contrast, we found no clear benefits of probiotic or dead-pathogen immunisation. These findings highlight three promising immunisation methods that enhance amphibian resistance to the chytrid fungus. They also suggest that wild animals exposed to chytrid may benefit from habitat manipulations, such as providing thermal refugia or targeted chemical disinfection, that enable animals to clear infection, thereby inducing live-pathogen immunity that could enhance survival in susceptible species.</p>
format Recurso digital
id zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_18844488
institution Zenodo
language
publishDate 2026
publisher Zenodo
record_format zenodo
spellingShingle Meta-analysis showing that immunisation is an effective method to reduce amphibian susceptibility to the chytrid fungus
Chung, Meng-Han
Batrachochytrium
antifungal
microbe
metabolites
zoospore
<p>Emerging infectious diseases are increasingly causing mortality in vertebrates, driving widespread population declines in some species. Amphibian chytridiomycosis is a lethal fungal disease that has caused population collapses and extinctions worldwide. Identifying approaches that can effectively enhance host survival is therefore an urgent conservation priority. Here, we investigate whether immunising individuals against chytrid is an effective strategy. We synthesised evidence from 223 effect sizes (53 experiments across 36 studies and 22 species) to evaluate how susceptibility to <em>Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis</em> (infection rates, infection intensity, mortality) differed between experimentally immunised and non-immunised individuals that were subsequently exposed to live chytrid. Individuals immunised by exposure to live chytrid, their cell-free compounds, or synthetic antiparasitics consistently had reduced disease susceptibility follow re-exposure, although effectiveness varied across the stages of disease progression, depended on life stage, and varied among taxonomic groups. In contrast, we found no clear benefits of probiotic or dead-pathogen immunisation. These findings highlight three promising immunisation methods that enhance amphibian resistance to the chytrid fungus. They also suggest that wild animals exposed to chytrid may benefit from habitat manipulations, such as providing thermal refugia or targeted chemical disinfection, that enable animals to clear infection, thereby inducing live-pathogen immunity that could enhance survival in susceptible species.</p>
title Meta-analysis showing that immunisation is an effective method to reduce amphibian susceptibility to the chytrid fungus
topic Batrachochytrium
antifungal
microbe
metabolites
zoospore
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18844488