Aspects of bacteria-Rana catesbeiana skin interaction

Abstract

Currently, there are approximately 5,858 described species of frogs. However, factors such as climate change, diseases caused by microorganisms and the introduction of new species, have been increasingly contributing to the decline of global population of these vertebrates. The skin of these animals plays a crucial role in protection against the adversities of the environment. However, this moisturized skin also favors the growth of various microorganisms that are not always associated to the skin in a beneficial association. It is believed that many of these microorganisms associated with skin are opportunistic and potentially pathogenic, and that they contribute to the amphibian population decline. Little is known about the interaction between microorganisms and amphibians skin. This project aims to evaluate the interaction between bacteria-amphibian skins by means of microbiological, histological, and histochemical methods, both in natural and experimental infection conditions. This project is closely related to a project already in progress at the Laboratory of Cellular Biology, Instituto Butantan (JP FAPESP Project - No.2010/06716-0), which aims to study the morphological and immunological aspects of the bacteria-skin interaction in different amphibian species of the Brazilian fauna. In this project we emphasize the study of the interaction of microorganisms with the skin of Rana catesbeiana and the development of an assay to facilitate the study of the bacteria-amphibia skin interaction using fragments of skin of amphibians maintained in vitro. (AU)