Testing the febrile response of snakes inoculated with Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, the causative agent of snake fungal disease

Godwin, Cody Davis; Walker, Donald M.; Romer, Alexander S.; Grajal-Puche, Alejandro; Grisnik, Matthew; Goessling, Jeffrey M.; Perkin, Joshua S.; Murray, Christopher M.

doi:10.1016/j.jtherbio.2021.103065

Cited by 4 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 45 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, in a laboratory study, Godwin et al. (2021) observed no febrile response to Oo infection in Eastern ribbon snakes, Thamnophis saurita . Our finding that ophidiomycosis is associated with an increased incidence of thermoregulatory behaviors in free‐living S. miliarius indicates a role for behavioral fever in the disease‐coping response.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a population of Sistrurus catenatus, seasonal thermal increments (up to 5.5°C) were observed in snakes with ophidiomycosis prior to hibernation (Tetzlaff et al, 2017). However, in a laboratory study, Godwin et al (2021) observed no febrile response to Oo infection in Eastern ribbon snakes, Thamnophis saurita. Our finding that ophidiomycosis is associated with an increased incidence of thermoregulatory behaviors in free-living S. miliarius indicates a role for behavioral fever in the disease-coping response.…”

Section: Thermoregulationmentioning

confidence: 91%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Ophidiomycosis is related to seasonal patterns of reproduction, ecdysis, and thermoregulatory behavior in a free‐living snake species

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Informed and effective management of emerging infectious diseases can be improved by a clear understanding of host–pathogen–environment interactions. Impacts of the seasonal environment on pathogen dynamics and host responses are poorly described in most reptile host–fungal pathogen systems. Here, we describe seasonal patterns of ophidiomycosis, a disease caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophidiicola (Oo), in a population of pygmy rattlesnakes, Sistrurus miliarius, in central Florida. We used field observations of gross clinical signs of disease in combination with qPCR on skin swabs to examine the seasonal prevalence of Oo and patterns of clinical presentation in hosts. We monitored thermoregulatory behaviors, ecdysis, and reproductive status in free‐living snakes to examine seasonal associations between infection and host coping responses. Both the prevalence of Oo and clinical signs of disease varied strongly with the season (winter high and summer low). In both seasons, the presence of clinical signs was a strong predictor of the presence of Oo as identified by qPCR on skin swabs (78% probability across seasons). Snakes with clinical signs of disease were more likely to be observed exhibiting thermoregulatory behavior or in ecdysis compared to non‐clinical snakes across seasons. The prevalence of Oo was not significantly different in pregnant snakes compared to other reproductive categories, but pregnant females were less likely to exhibit clinical signs of disease compared to males. Our results highlight strong seasonal patterns in both host clinical signs and Oo prevalence and support the efficacy of using gross clinical signs of disease in combination with qPCR on skin swabs to assess disease dynamics in free‐living snakes. We also identify ecdysis and thermoregulatory behaviors as components of the seasonal disease‐coping response and highlight the need to examine these behaviors as potential drivers of seasonal infection outcomes in reptiles afflicted with fungal pathogens.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Thermoregulationmentioning

confidence: 91%

Ophidiomycosis is related to seasonal patterns of reproduction, ecdysis, and thermoregulatory behavior in a free‐living snake species

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Some field studies have shown that PCR detection of O. ophidiicola is more prevalent in early spring than fall season indicating that infection might initiate in winters, but hosts might recover from chronic infection during summers (McKenzie et al., 2018). Higher environmental temperature facilitates host immune activation and infected hosts prefer warmer temperatures (behavioural fever) to increase their immune response and survival during infection, as seen in both amphibians (Boltaña et al., 2013) and snakes (Burns et al., 1996; Godwin et al., 2021). Behavioural thermoregulation via basking has been reported in free‐ranging snakes affected by ophidiomycosis (McBride et al., 2015) and is possibly a defence mechanism against infection (Lorch et al., 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Modules were identified by hierarchical clustering of signed Topological Overlap Matrix (TOM) (Yip & Horvath, 2007) using a soft threshold ( β ) to assign a connection weight to each gene pair and a minimum of 30 co‐expressed genes to be assigned to a module (Harder et al., 2019). β was chosen as the lowest power for which the scale‐free topology fit index of all genes reached 0.9 within each tissue type ( β liver = 12; β kidney = 8; β skin = 12) as suggested by previous work (Godwin et al., 2021).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic mechanisms and biological processes underlying host response to ophidiomycosis (snake fungal disease) inferred from tissue‐specific transcriptome analyses

Mathur,

Haynes,

Allender

et al. 2023

Molecular Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Emerging infectious diseases in wildlife species caused by pathogenic fungi are of growing concern, yet crucial knowledge gaps remain for diseases with potentially large impacts. For example, there is detailed knowledge about host pathology and mechanisms underlying response for chytridiomycosis in amphibians and white‐nose syndrome in bats, but such information is lacking for other more recently described fungal infections. One such disease is ophidiomycosis, caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, which has been identified in many species of snakes, yet the biological mechanisms and molecular changes occurring during infection are unknown. To gain this information, we performed a controlled experimental infection in captive Prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis) with O. ophidiicola at two different temperatures: 20 and 26°C. We then compared liver, kidney, and skin transcriptomes to assess tissue‐specific genetic responses to O. ophidiicola infection. Given previous histopathological studies and the fact that snakes are ectotherms, we expected highest fungal activity on skin and a significant impact of temperature on host response. Although we found fungal activity to be localized on skin, most of the differential gene expression occurred in internal tissues. Infected snakes at the lower temperature had the highest host mortality whereas two‐thirds of the infected snakes at the higher temperature survived. Our results suggest that ophidiomycosis is likely a systemic disease with long‐term effects on host response. Our analysis also identified candidate protein coding genes that are potentially involved in host response, providing genetic tools for studies of host response to ophidiomycosis in natural populations.

show abstract

“…Frogs prefer warmer temperatures or induce behavioral fever to increase immune response and survival during infection (87). Snakes also display behavioral thermogenesis through basking, which increases their body temperature to increase the immune response to infection (88, 89). Our results provide a link between these behaviors and a potential response to SFD infections in snakes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic mechanisms and biological processes underlying host response to ophidiomycosis (Snake Fungal Disease) inferred from tissue-specific transcriptome analyses

Mathur

Haynes

Allender

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is growing concern about infectious diseases in wildlife species caused by pathogenic fungi. Detailed knowledge exists about host pathology and the molecular mechanisms underlying host physiological response to some fungal diseases affecting amphibians and bats but is lacking for others with potentially significant impacts on large groups of animals. One such disease is ophidiomycosis (Snake Fungal Disease; SFD) which is caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophidiicola and impacts diverse species of snakes. Despite this potential, the biological mechanisms and molecular changes occurring during infection are unknown for any snake species. To gain this information, we performed a controlled experimental infection of captive Prairie rattlesnakes ( Crotalus viridis ) with O. ophidiicola at different temperatures. We then generated liver, kidney, and skin transcriptomes from control and infected snakes to assess tissue specific genetic responses to infection. Given previous SFD histopathological studies and the fact that snakes are ectotherms, we expected highest fungal activity on skin and a significant impact of temperature on host response. In contrast, we found that most of the differential gene expression was restricted to internal tissues and fungal-infected snakes showed transcriptome profiles indicative of long-term inflammation of specific tissues. Infected snakes at the lower temperature had the most pronounced overall host functional response whereas, infected snakes at the higher temperature had overall expression profiles similar to control snakes possibly indicating recovery from the disease. Overall, our results suggest SFD is a systemic disease with a chronic host response, unlike acute response shown by amphibians to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infections. Our analysis also generated a list of candidate protein coding genes that potentially mediate SFD response in snakes, providing tools for future comparative and evolutionary studies into variable species susceptibility to ophidiomycosis.

show abstract

Testing the febrile response of snakes inoculated with Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, the causative agent of snake fungal disease

Cited by 4 publications

References 45 publications

Ophidiomycosis is related to seasonal patterns of reproduction, ecdysis, and thermoregulatory behavior in a free‐living snake species

Ophidiomycosis is related to seasonal patterns of reproduction, ecdysis, and thermoregulatory behavior in a free‐living snake species

Genetic mechanisms and biological processes underlying host response to ophidiomycosis (snake fungal disease) inferred from tissue‐specific transcriptome analyses

Genetic mechanisms and biological processes underlying host response to ophidiomycosis (Snake Fungal Disease) inferred from tissue-specific transcriptome analyses

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About