Meeting Abstract

P1-253  Friday, Jan. 4 15:30 – 17:30  Growth Rates and Morphology Found in Four Strains of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Isolated from Around the World NORDHEIM, C.L.*; RICE, S.A.; DETMERING, S.E.; MCMAHON, T.A.; The University of Tampa; The University of Tampa; The University of Tampa; The University of Tampa caitlin.nordheim@spartans.ut.edu

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a contagious pathogenic fungus that has caused amphibian decline worldwide. This is a well-studied species but little is known about the differences in fungal morphology among the Bd strains. Here, we compared the morphology of four virulent strains of Bd, one isolated from amphibians in California, one from Louisiana and two different strains from Panama. The strains were imaged using a scanning electron microscope and we compared the diameter of infectious zoospores, the diameter of the zoosporangia, and the number and size of zoospore discharge tubules found on the zoosporangia. We also grew strains in culture and examined zoospore and zoosporangia production over time. We found that one of the Panama strains zoospores and zoosporangia were larger in diameter (p < 0.0001, for both) and had more discharge tubules per zoosporangium compared to the other strains. There were no differences between the strains in respect to the size of the discharge tubules. We also found that the strains differed in zoospore, but not zoosporangia, production in culture (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.6, respectively). Therefore, one of the Panama strains may be able to grow faster, potentially altering pathogen virulence. Bd is found globally and in laboratory experiments infections are often compared to one another, this morphology and growth information helps us better understand infection dynamics and strain virulence.