There is increasing interest in the symbiosis between amphibians and their skin microbes, particularly regarding the chemical ecology that mediates these interactions. The emergence of the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has added urgency to this study, as Bd has been linked to steep declines of amphibian populations over the last few decades. To provide a chemical tool to rapidly assess such interactions, we have developed a nonlethal and inexpensive swabbing technique to recover skin metabolites. Swabs can be processed and analyzed via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) with UV-Vis monitoring to detect key secondary metabolites produced by the microbial community. This is being exploited for several hundred specimens from five Panamanian frog species, as the spread of Bd across Panama is under high levels of scrutiny. We will pursue any correlations of metabolites with host species identity, which could implicate specificity between host organism and microbial symbiont. Principal component analysis (PCA) will be used to uncover correlations between metabolite diversity and/or richness and amphibian mortality. Furthermore, we will apply MSn analysis to elucidate structures of key metabolites to better characterize the chemical antagonism of cutaneous microorganisms against Bd.

Chemical ecology of amphibian skin microbiota

246th National Meeting (2013)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.