earticle

영어

The novel chytrid pathogen, Batrachochytrium salamanderivorans (Bsal) was discovered in 2013 that infect urodeles severely including the Fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) which was decimated in the Netherland by this pathogen. Numerous salamander species are known to be lethal to Bsal so far. The USA has been implemented strict control over pet trade as well as the Bsal Task Force already in preparation for spread of Bsal. Especially, some East Asian salamander species (Cynops cyanurus, Cynops pyrrhogaster, Paramesotriton deloustali) are known to be susceptible to Bsal but also to be subsequently curable, so they are considered as reservoirs of Bsal. Moreover, some East Asian countries such as Taiwan, Vietnam, and Japan have been revealed having Bsal. Thus, Korea also has a possibility of having Bsal, and needs quarantine to prevent Bsal from inflow. In this Bsal screening 2018, we swabbed 319 salamanders in Korea. We extracted DNA and screened Bsal by conventional PCR and electrophoresis with Bsal DNA as a positive control. No single Bsal positive sample has been detected in wild yet. For further studies, other regions in Korea and other species of salamanders are needed to be screened more. Nationwide sample collection with cooperation are required to do this. 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.