Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide and plant immunity to fungal pathogens: do the risks outweigh the benefits?

Anthropogenic emissions have caused atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations to double since the industrial revolution. Although this could benefit plant growth from the 'CO2 fertilisation' effect, recent studies report conflicting impacts of elevated CO2 (eCO2) on plant-pathogen interactions. Fungal pathogens are the leading cause of plant disease.

Serologic responses correlate with current but not future bacterial shedding in badgers naturally infected with Mycobacterium bovis.

Bovine tuberculosis is a challenging cattle disease with substantial economic costs in affected countries. Eradication in parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland is hindered by transmission of the causative agent Mycobacterium bovis between cattle and European badgers (Meles meles). Diagnostic tests in badgers are of limited accuracy but may help us understand and predict disease progression.

Estimating wildlife vaccination coverage using genetic methods.

Vaccination is a useful approach for the control of disease in wildlife populations. However, its effectiveness is dependent in part on delivery to a sufficient proportion of the target population. Measuring the proportions of wild animal populations that have been vaccinated is challenging and so there is a need to develop robust approaches that can contribute to our understanding of the likely efficacy of wildlife vaccination campaigns.

Evaluation of the Dual Path Platform (DPP) VetTB assay for the detection of Mycobacterium bovis infection in badgers.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB), caused by Mycobacterium bovis, represents a major animal health issue. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, European badgers (Meles meles) have been shown to act as a reservoir of M. bovis infection, hindering the eradication of bTB in livestock.

20 years of national wildlife disease surveillance.

The need for wildlife surveillance is as great now as it ever has been. Here, members of the APHA's Diseases of Wildlife Scheme explain why their work is important.

Apparent absence of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans in wild urodeles in the United Kingdom.

Whether an infectious disease threat to wildlife arises from pathogen introduction or the increased incidence of an already-present agent informs mitigation policy and actions. The prior absence of a pathogen can be difficult to establish, particularly in free-living wildlife. Subsequent to the epidemic emergence of the fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), in mainland Europe in 2010 and prior to its detection in captive amphibians in the United Kingdom (UK), we tested archived skin swabs using a Bsal-specific qPCR.

Inbreeding intensifies sex- and age-dependent disease in a wild mammal.

The mutation accumulation theory of senescence predicts that age-related deterioration of fitness can be exaggerated when inbreeding causes homozygosity for deleterious alleles. A vital component of fitness, in natural populations, is the incidence and progression of disease. Evidence is growing for natural links between inbreeding and ageing; between inbreeding and disease; between sex and ageing; and between sex and disease.