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A Variety of Fungal Species on the Green Frogs’ Skin (Pelophylax esculentus complex) in South Banat

  • Fungal Microbiology
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Abstract

In the last several decades, amphibian populations have been declining worldwide. Many factors have been linked to global amphibian decline, including habitat destruction, pollution, introduced species, global environmental changes, and emerging infectious diseases. Recent studies of amphibian skin infections were mainly focused on the presence of chytridiomycosis, neglecting other members of the frogs’ skin communities. The diversity pattern of fungal dwellers on the skin of green frogs (Pelophylax esculentus complex) was investigated. A total of 100 adults were sampled from three localities in South Banat (northern Serbia) over three consecutive years and detected fungal dwellers were identified using light microscopy and ITS and BenA gene sequencing. Structures belonging to fungi and fungus-like organisms including a variety of spores and different mycelia types were documented in the biofilm formed on amphibian skin, and are classified into 10 groups. In total, 42 fungal isolates were identified to species, section, or genus level. The difference in mycobiota composition between sampling points (localities and green frog taxa) was documented. The highest number of fungal structures and isolates was recorded on the hybrid taxon P. esculentus and locality Stevanove ravnice. Parental species showed a markedly lower diversity than the hybrid taxon and were more similar in diversity patterns and were placed in the same homogenous group. The locality Stevanove ravnice exhibited more pronounced differences in diversity pattern than the other two localities and was placed in a distinct and separate homogenous group. Among the fungal isolates, the highest isolation frequency was documented for Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus sp. sect. Nigri, Epicoccum nigrum, Fusarium proliferatum, and Trichoderma atroviride. Among the documented species, dematiaceous fungi, causative agents of chromomycosis in amphibians, were also recorded in this research with high isolation frequency. Also, some rare fungal species such as Quambalaria cyanescens and Pseudoteniolina globosa are documented for the first time in this research as microbial inhabitants of amphibian skin.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

Authors received financial support of their research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia [Contract No.451–03-9/2021–14/ 200178].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Belgrade, Faculty of Biology, Studentski Trg 16, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia

    Miloš Stupar, Željko Savković, Katarina Breka, Srđan Stamenković, Imre Krizmanić, Jelena Vukojević & Milica Ljaljević Grbić

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  1. Miloš Stupar
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  2. Željko Savković
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  3. Katarina Breka
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  6. Jelena Vukojević
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Contributions

MS, KB, MLjG, SS, and IK contributed to the study conception and design. Field sampling was performed by MS, KB, SS, and IK. MS and ŽS conducted experiments. The first draft of the manuscript was written by MS, ŽS, and KB. All other authors commented on the previous versions of the manuscript. Funding acquisition: JV and KB. Supervision: MS, MLjG, and SS. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Miloš Stupar.

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Ethics Approval

Collecting adult Pelophylax esculentus complex frogs from a natural population was approved by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia (Permits No. 353–01-1170/2016–17 and 353-0 l-370/2018–04).

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All authors agreed to participate.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Jelena Vukojević died during the time of study.

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Stupar, M., Savković, Ž., Breka, K. et al. A Variety of Fungal Species on the Green Frogs’ Skin (Pelophylax esculentus complex) in South Banat. Microb Ecol 86, 859–871 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-022-02135-0

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