Field-diagnostics identify one of the world's last amphibian hotspots unaffected by chytridiomycosis

Amphibian chytridiomycosis is a disease that appears to have escaped from a science fiction movie. The pathogenic agent behind this amphibian disease, the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, is not just killing frogs, toads, salamanders and caecilians around the world, but it is so impactful that it has driven numerous species into extinction. As one of the main drivers of the amphibian extinction crisis, this emerging pathogen has almost reached every region where amphibians occur. But there seem to be some last exceptions.

Using CRISPR-based field diagnostics, we have contributed to uncovering a remarkable refuge from this fungal panzootic: In the remote mountains of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia, amphibians persist unaffected and the diverse amphibian communities remain epidemiologically naive. This ecosystem is hence of strong importance for conserving amphibian biodiversity.

Our study 'The chytrid fungus threatens the last epidemiologically naive Neotropical montane amphibian biodiversity hotspot' was recently published in Current Biology.

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