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영어

Chytridiomycosis is often associated with die-offs of amphibians worldwide. Two species of amphibian chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), have been known to kill amphibians. Most attention has been on Bd, until Bsal was discovered in The Netherlands in 2013 and is considered the responsible agent for massive die-offs in salamanders there. Bd is thought to have originated from Asia, and scientists hypothesize Bsal also originates from Asia. To determine if Bsal is present In South Korea, we swabbed over 200 salamanders from 24 different sites over 2 years. We surveyed 5 salamander species in the genus Hynobius ; over 100 individuals of Hynobius leechii, 20 individuals of Hynobius quelpaertensis, 35 individuals of Hynobius yangi, and 10 individuals Hynobius unisacculus. We also surveyed 61 individuals of the Korean crevice salamander, Karsenia koreana. We swabbed the ventrum and toes of the salamanders. We extracted DNA using Prepman Ultra, and used a Bsal specific primers in a PCR. No Bsal has been detected in any sample screened so far. Thus we suspect that Bsal is not endemic to South Korea, and may pose a threat if it is introduced. This work was supported by a grant from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2016R1D1A1B03934071) and National Geographic Society.