The epidemiology and genomics of a virulent emerging fungal pathogen in an Australian reptile

Barbara Class, Daniel Powell, Julien Terraube, Greg Albery, Coralie Delme, Shweta Bansal, Celine Frère
October, 2021
Cite Project Biorxiv

Abstract

Emerging infectious fungal diseases (EIFDs) represent a major conservation concern worldwide. Here, we provide early insights into the potential threat that Nannizziopsis barbatae (Nb), a novel EIFD, poses to Australian herpetological biodiversity. First known to the reptile pet trade as a primary pathogen causing untreatable severe dermatomycosis, since 2013, Nb has emerged in a growing number of phylogenetically and ecologically distant free-living reptiles across Australia. Observing its emergence in a long-term study population of wild eastern water dragons (Intellagama lesueurii), we demonstrate the pathogen′s virulence-related genomic features, within-population spatiotemporal spread, and survival costs, all of which imply that Nb could pose a threat to Australian reptiles in the future. Our findings highlight the need to closely monitor this pathogen in Australian ecosystems.

Type
3
Barbara Class
Barbara Class
Researcher

I am a researcher interested in among-individual differences in wild vertebrate populations.