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Updated: Jul 26, 2026

Reduced Itraconazole Concentration and Durations Are Successful in Treating Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Infection in Amphibians
Published on: March 14, 2014
Biofilms inactivate the free-living stage of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, the most destructive pathogen for
Hugo Sentenac1,2,3, Dirk S Schmeller1, Solène Caubet1
1Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l'Environnement (Unité Mixte de Recherche UMR 5300), Université de Toulouse, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD), Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse (INPT), Université Toulouse 3-Paul Sabatier, 118 Route de Narbonne, Toulouse Cedex 31062, France.
Abstract:
Emerging infectious diseases threaten biodiversity and human health. Many emerging pathogens have aquatic life stages and all immersed substrates have biofilms on their surface, i.e. communities of microorganisms producing a gelatinous matrix. However, the outcome of the interactions between environmental biofilms and pathogens is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that biofilms reduce the survival of the most impactful pathogen for vertebrate diversity, the invasive chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Effects on its zoospores varied with biofilm composition in controlled settings and biofilm compositional variation also coincided with divergent impacts of chytridiomycosis on amphibian populations in nature. Our results suggest that biofilms form a biotic component of ecosystem resistance to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis by reducing environmental transmission, and that they could be used to develop nature-based technologies to limit the impacts and spread of this invasive chytrid fungus. Our study warrants further research into the interactions between environmental biofilms and pathogenic and/or invasive micro-organisms.
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