Hope for fighting disease known as Ebola of frogs

Date:  February 15, 2019

Source:  University of Central Florida

Despite widespread infection, some frog populations are surviving a deadly disease that is the equivalent of humankind's Ebola virus. The reason -- genetic diversity.

That's the finding of a new study published this week in the journal Immunogenetics. Anna Savage, an assistant professor of biology at the University of Central Florida, is the lead author of the study.

The research is important because frogs are facing what may be a mass extinction as a result of disease, Savage says.

"If you have more genetic variation, you have more potential to respond and adapt to anything," Savage says.

However, protecting frog habitats from destruction and pollution is critical, she says.

"Don't destroy habitats, maintain large population sizes -- these simple things are the best actions to implement, given whatever limited information we have, to give populations the chance to rebound," she says.

Continued