Researchers from the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), the Université de Toulouse and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) show how the microbial colonisation of the organism influences the interactions between living organisms, the environment and pathogens, using amphibians like frogs as examples.
Researchers from the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), the Université de Toulouse and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) show how the microbial colonisation of the organism influences the interactions between living organisms, the environment and pathogens, using amphibians like frogs as examples. This is basic research for health prophylaxis.
Biotic and abiotic environmental factors have a strong influence on the dynamics of diseases in humans and animals. In their study, the researchers focus on an important component: the microbiome. The individual microbiome of a living being is a vital component of immunity. Especially on the skin and in the bowel, i.e. directly at the interface between the individual and pathogens, endogenous bacteria and viruses are highly active.
The international team presents the concept of a disease pyramid with the four cornerstones of environment, pathogen, host and microbiome. For the first time, the different functions of the microbiome are taken into account. The researchers illustrate this by using the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochochytrium dendrobatidis.
Read more at Forschungsverbund Berlin
Image: The microbiome is also an important part of the immune response in amphibians. (Credit: Dirk Schmeller)
