Gryzenhout, M.Gryzenhout, C.Cason, E.Ghosh, S.Kloppers, George Antonie Ehlers2023-08-152023-08-152022http://hdl.handle.net/11660/12112Infectious diseases are pressuring amphibian populations globally, especially threatened frog species occurring in restricted areas. Chytridiomycosis, which is caused by the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), is arguably the most devastating panzootic disease confronting wildlife today and was determined to be a major driving force of the current amphibian extinction crisis. A healthy amphibian host has a symbiotic relationship with its cutaneous microbial community that benefits the host in many ways including the protection against malicious microbes. The current trend in amphibian skin microbiome studies concentrate predominantly on its bacterial component, while other components of the microbiome such as filamentous fungi and eukaryotes have been neglected. In this study Amietia hymenopus, a Bd-challenged frog population of southern Africa, was sampled from remote locations of the frog?s natural distribution on the Drakensberg mountain range. The cutaneous microbiome diversity was analysed using next generation sequencing and bioinformatics tools, investigating both the bacterial and fungal components of the frogs? skin microbial community. Results indicated high diversity dissimilarities in both alpha and beta diversity when comparing individual specimens, and sampling areas, respectively. This study touched on an important topic regarding the microbial biodiversity found on frogs, and sheds light on the complex interaction between host and microbial communities in amphibian populations. Knowledge on this intricate relationship between host and their microscopic cutaneous symbionts could help inform amphibian conservation efforts against infectious disease.enDissertation (M.Sc. (Genetics))--University of the Free State, 2022DissertationUniversity of the Free State