Genomic characterization of two ranavirus isolates identified from a gopher frog () and a striped newt () during a mass mortality event in Florida.

Two ranavirus isolates were recovered from anuran and salamander samples collected during an amphibian mass mortality event in North-Central Florida in 2021. Phylogenetic analyses of the full genomes confirmed that the two isolates were nearly identical and strains of the species .

Invasibility of a North American soil ecosystem to amphibian-killing fungal pathogens.

North American salamanders are threatened by intercontinental spread of chytridiomycosis, a deadly disease caused by the fungal pathogen (). To predict potential dispersal of spores to salamander habitats, we evaluated the capacity of soil microbial communities to resist invasion. We determined the degree of habitat invasibility using soils from five locations throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a region with a high abundance of susceptible hosts.

Ontogeny drives shifts in skin bacterial communities in facultatively paedomorphic salamanders.

Microbiomes are major determinants of host growth, development and survival. In amphibians, host-associated bacteria in the skin can inhibit pathogen infection, but many processes can influence the structure and composition of the community. Here we quantified the shifts in skin-associated bacteria across developmental stages in the striped newt (), a threatened salamander species with a complex life history and vulnerable to infection by the amphibian chytrid fungus and ranavirus.

Divergent Serpentoviruses in Free-Ranging Invasive Pythons and Native Colubrids in Southern Florida, United States.

Burmese python () is an invasive snake that has significantly affected ecosystems in southern Florida, United States. Aside from direct predation and competition, invasive species can also introduce nonnative pathogens that can adversely affect native species. The subfamily (order ) is composed of positive-sense RNA viruses primarily found in reptiles.

Sustained Ranavirus Outbreak Causes Mass Mortality and Morbidity of Imperiled Amphibians in Florida.

A persistent 2-month long outbreak of Ranavirus in a natural community of amphibians contributed to a mass die-off of gopher frog tadpoles (Lithobates capito) and severe disease in striped newts (Notophthalmus perstriatus) in Florida. Ongoing mortality in L. capito and disease signs in N.