Emerging Pathogens and a Current-Use Pesticide: Potential Impacts on Eastern Hellbenders.

Populations of the eastern hellbender Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis have been declining for decades, and emerging pathogens and pesticides are hypothesized to be contributing factors. However, few empirical studies have attempted to test the potential effects of these factors on hellbenders. We simultaneously exposed subadult hellbenders to environmentally relevant concentrations of either Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) or a frog virus 3-like ranavirus (RV), a combination of the pathogens, or each pathogen following exposure to a glyphosate herbicide (Roundup).

Ranavirus could facilitate local extinction of rare amphibian species.

There is growing evidence that pathogens play a role in population declines and species extinctions. For small populations, disease-induced extinction may be especially probable. We estimated the susceptibility of two amphibian species of conservation concern (the dusky gopher frog [Lithobates sevosus] and boreal toad [Anaxyrus boreas boreas]) to an emerging pathogen (ranavirus) using laboratory challenge experiments, and combined these data with published demographic parameter estimates to simulate the potential effects of ranavirus exposure on extinction risk.

Water Temperature Affects Susceptibility to Ranavirus.

The occurrence of emerging infectious diseases in wildlife populations is increasing, and changes in environmental conditions have been hypothesized as a potential driver. For example, warmer ambient temperatures might favor pathogens by providing more ideal conditions for propagation or by stressing hosts. Our objective was to determine if water temperature played a role in the pathogenicity of an emerging pathogen (ranavirus) that infects ectothermic vertebrate species.

High tissue burden of Toxoplasma gondii is the hallmark of acute virulence in mice.

Toxoplasma gondii virulence is commonly determined by mortality rate of infected mice. Limited data showed that virulent T. gondii strains had increased parasite growth in mice compared to that of less virulent strains.

Differential gene expression in mice infected with distinct Toxoplasma strains.

Toxoplasma gondii is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis in human and animals. In a mouse model, T. gondii strains can be divided into three groups, including the virulent, intermediately virulent, and nonvirulent.