He took samples from frog skin and ran it through an electron scanning microscope. The results brought in information on a fungal infection from a fungus group called Chytrid. The weird thing about this discovery is that this fungus has never been seen before and they can only be found deep underground or in treetops. So they had to create a whole new genome for it. They named it Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis or Bd. Tests were run on this fungus, and when it was exposed to poison blue dart frogs it killed them within a couple weeks. It was then concluded that this fungus is an invasive pathogen that would weaken and eventually kill the frogs it infected. The main reason Bd killed frogs is because it interfered with the frogs ability to absorb electrolytes through their skin which in turn causes them to suffer through a heart
He took samples from frog skin and ran it through an electron scanning microscope. The results brought in information on a fungal infection from a fungus group called Chytrid. The weird thing about this discovery is that this fungus has never been seen before and they can only be found deep underground or in treetops. So they had to create a whole new genome for it. They named it Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis or Bd. Tests were run on this fungus, and when it was exposed to poison blue dart frogs it killed them within a couple weeks. It was then concluded that this fungus is an invasive pathogen that would weaken and eventually kill the frogs it infected. The main reason Bd killed frogs is because it interfered with the frogs ability to absorb electrolytes through their skin which in turn causes them to suffer through a heart