Owing to a lack of surveillance efforts, however, little is known regarding the host–pathogen associations of ophidiomycosis in the state.Ĭonfirmed infections of Oo across multiple snake genera suggest low host specificity 21, 23. Prior to this study, two reports from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department confirmed Oo infections in Nerodia harteri harteri, the Brazos water snake (or Brazos River Watersnake), in 2016 and in an Eastern Patch-nosed Snake ( Salvadora grahamiae) in 2017 (Dryad repository: ). Nowak, unpublished data), and most recently, Texas. The pathogen has since been detected across the contiguous United States in numerous species throughout the Midwest 12, East Coast 18, 19, 20, 21, California 22, Arizona (E. At the population level, low genetic diversity and climatic factors in combination with a disease that had signs similar to ophidiomycosis were later thought to have contributed to the decline of an isolated population of timber rattlesnakes ( Crotalus horridus) in New Hampshire 12, 17. In North America, Oo was first detected in 2008 among wild populations of eastern massasaugas ( Sistrurus catenatus) from Illinois 14. Signs of infection first appear as dermatitis, and if not cleared, infections will advance to lesions, ulcers, and tissue necrosis-the latter of which can precede death 12, 16. Similarly, the ascomycete fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola ( Oo) is the causative agent of ophidiomycosis (Snake Fungal Disease), an EID in North America and Europe that was also recently detected in Asia 12, 13, 14, 15. salamandrivorans 5, 6, 7 in amphibians, as well as white-nose syndrome caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans infections in bats 8, 9, 10, 11. Prime examples of fungal infections in wildlife across the globe include chytridiomycosis caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis 2, 3, 4 or B. harteri has implications for their conservation and management owing to their patchy distribution, comparatively low genetic diversity, and threats from anthropogenic habitat modification.Įmerging infectious diseases (EIDs) have become a serious threat to wildlife with several outbreaks across broad taxonomic groups 1. High Oo prevalence estimates (94.4%) in adult N. harteri had a higher probability of infection than adult N. Models indicated adults had a higher probability of Oo infection than juveniles and subadults, and adult N. harteri, Oo prevalence was 46% overall, and there was a significant association between Oo occurrence and signs of infection in our sample. We found Oo was distributed across the entire range of N. To accomplish this, we surveyed a portion of the Brazos river drainage (~ 400 river km) over 29 months and tested 150 Nerodia individuals for the presence of Oo via quantitative PCR and recorded any potential signs of Oo infection. and is sympatric with two wide-ranging congeners, Nerodia erythrogaster transversa and Nerodia rhombifer, in north central Texas thus, providing an opportunity to test comparative host–pathogen associations in this system. The threatened and rare Brazos water snake ( Nerodia harteri harteri) is one of the most range restricted snakes in the U.S. However, surveillance efforts in the central U.S., specifically Texas, have been minimal. The ascomycete fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola ( Oo) is the causative agent of ophidiomycosis (Snake Fungal Disease), which has been detected globally.
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