A fungal pandemic is massacring frogs, but scientists just found a virus that could lead to a cure

A fungal pandemic is massacring frogs, but scientists just found a virus that could lead to a cure
B. dendrobatidis is ravaging frog and toad populations, but its weakness is a virus we could weaponize

By MATTHEW ROZSA
Staff Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 6, 2024 6:15AM (EDT)


(Salon) Imagine a fungus that makes your skin turn angry red. Some of the skin breaks into ulcers, especially at the tips of your toes, while in other places, pieces of skin shed off entirely. By the time it reaches your heart, which is inevitably fatal, death is probably a welcome relief.

That is the fate of the millions of frogs who have suffered from Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or BD for short. Over 500 species of amphibians are suffering major population declines due to BD while there have been 90 possible extinctions and near extinctions, threatening endangered species like Panamanian golden frogs (Atelopus zeteki) and yellow-legged mountain frogs (Rana muscosa.) BD is driving one of the great mass extinctions of the current era — and yet now researchers believe that a virus may help herpetologists develop a cure.

Meet BdDV-1, a viral fragment discovered by scientists whose paper was recently published by the journal Current Biology. The researchers found it in much the same way that one disentangles a knot, by pulling on individual threads to see where they lead. While examining the BD fungus to learn about weaknesses, they discovered a single-stranded DNA virus trapped within the genome of the fungus. Although this only applied to certain strains, when infected they produced fewer spores than the uninfected fungi. Now the next step is to see if researchers can clone and engineer this virus so that it kills BD and saves the frogs.

That will not be the easiest task to accomplish, however, for a big reason: Currently the virus makes the fungus more deadly to the frogs, rather than less so. ...............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/04/06/a-fungal-is-massacring-frogs-but-scientists-just-found-a-that-could-lead-to-a-cure/