The ability to detect and monitor infectious disease in a phylogenetically informative manner is critical for their management. Phylogenetically informative diagnostic tests enable patterns of pathogen introduction or changes in the distribution of genotypes to be measured, enabling research into the ecology of the pathogen. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a causative agent of chytridiomycosis in amphibian populations, emerged worldwide in the 21st century and is composed of six lineages which are display varying levels of virulence in their hosts. Research into the distribution, ecology and pathogenicity of these lineages has been hampered by an inability to type lineage efficiently. Here, we describe a lineage-specific TaqMan qPCR assay that differentiates the two lineages of Bd most commonly associated with chytridiomycosis: BdGPL and BdCAPE. We demonstrate how this assay can be used for the surveillance of wild populations of amphibians in Southern Africa using skin swabs, tissue samples and cultured isolates.

中文翻译：

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使用定量 PCR 鉴别 Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis 的谱系

以系统发育信息的方式检测和监测传染病的能力对其管理至关重要。系统发育信息诊断测试能够测量病原体引入的模式或基因型分布的变化，从而能够研究病原体的生态学。Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ( Bd ) 是两栖动物中壶菌病的病原体，于 21 世纪出现在世界范围内，由六个谱系组成，它们在宿主中显示出不同程度的毒力。由于无法有效地对谱系进行分类，对这些谱系的分布、生态学和致病性的研究受到阻碍。在这里，我们描述了一种谱系特异性 TaqMan qPCR 检测，可区分两种谱系Bd最常与壶菌病相关：Bd GPL 和Bd CAPE。我们展示了如何使用皮肤拭子、组织样本和培养的分离物，将该检测方法用于监测南部非洲两栖动物的野生种群。