Date of Submission

Spring 2022

Academic Program

Biology

Project Advisor 1

Brooke Jude

Abstract/Artist's Statement

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a fungal pathogen to amphibians which has been responsible for the decline of an estimated 500 different amphibian species globally. With the inevitable spread of chytrid to new communities of amphibians, current efforts are focusing on finding potential therapeutics for Bd, either on the individual or community level. One such strategy being explored is the use of novel microbes from the environment with innate defenses which allow them to inhibit the growth and development of Bd. The secondary metabolite produced by bacteria which has been of interest in the exploration of this branch of therapeutics is the pigment violacein. In this study, native bacteria are swabbed from the skin of Lithobates in search for violacein producing bacterial strains. The bacteria which produce violacein are isolated and then assayed against Bd in order to see whether they inhibit its growth and development at different life stages. The strains which successfully inhibit Bd are then identified down to the species or genus using genomics, then further characterized using sequencing data and imaging via microscopy.

Open Access Agreement

On-Campus only

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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