2024/03/14 by Rebecca A. Clemons, Mark Yacoub, Evelyn Faust +8 · 1 voice
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Medicine · #Plant and Fungal Interactions Research #Plant Virus Research Studies #Viral Infections and Vectors
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.062
openalex publication_date 2024/03/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
The global panzootic lineage (GPL) of the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has caused severe amphibian population declines, yet the drivers underlying the high frequency of GPL in regions of amphibian decline are unclear. Using publicly available Bd genome sequences, we identified multiple non-GPL Bd isolates that contain a circular Rep-encoding single-stranded (CRESS)-like DNA virus, which we named Bd DNA virus 1 (BdDV-1). We further sequenced and constructed genome assemblies with long read sequences to find that the virus is integrated into the nuclear genome in some strains. Attempts to cure virus-positive isolates were unsuccessful; however, phenotypic differences between naturally virus-positive and virus-negative Bd isolates suggested that BdDV-1 decreases the growth of its host in vitro but increases the virulence of its host in vivo. BdDV-1 is the first-described CRESS DNA mycovirus of zoosporic true fungi, with a distribution inversely associated with the emergence of the panzootic lineage.