Mechanistic basis for loss of water balance in green tree frogs infected with a fungal pathogen.

Chytridiomycosis, a lethal skin disease caused by the fungal pathogen (), disrupts skin function of amphibians, interfering with ionic and osmotic regulation. To regulate fungal loads, amphibians increase their rate of skin sloughing. However, sloughing also causes a temporary loss of ionic and osmotic homeostasis due to disruption of the skin, a key osmoregulatory organ.