Snake Fungal Disease Alters Skin Microbiome in Eastern Massasaugas

Findings May Improve Conservation Efforts

In the first study of its kind, researchers characterized the skin microbiome of a population of free-ranging snakes to begin to understand how the animals’ environmental microbial community may promote disease resistance as well as how it may be disrupted by infection.

[Matthew Allender]
Dr. Matthew Allender founded the Wildlife Epidemiology Laboratory at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine and is also an affiliate of the Illinois Natural History Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute.

The study, which was recently published in Scientific Reports, a Nature research journal, focused on eastern massasaugas in Illinois. This species of endangered rattlesnake is highly susceptible to the fungal pathogen Ophidiomyces ophiodiicolawhich causes snake fungal disease (SFD). SFD results in disfiguring sores on snake skin, has a high mortality rate, and poses a significant threat to snake populations in North America and Europe. The mechanism by which the pathogen causes disease is unknown.

Read the complete story: https://vetmed.illinois.edu/2018/08/14/snake-fungal-disease-skin-microbiome-eastern-massasaugas-2/