密歇根新闻广播 影响密歇根响尾蛇一种疾病的新线索

We have a rattlesnake in Michigan called the eastern massasauga. It's listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

One of the threats it's facing is a disease called snake fungal disease, and it cankill the snakes.

Researchers have figured out some clues about how the pathogen affects the snakes.

Dr. Matt Allender is a veterinarian, and a assistant professor at the University of Illinois. He also directs the Wildlife Epidemiology Lab.

"Snake fungal disease is a fungal pathogen, an emerging disease similar to white-nose syndrome¹ in bats or chytrid infection in frogs throughout the world," he says. "About ten years ago, eastern massasaugas were one of the first species that was identified with skin lesions that would affect their face, primarily."

He says snake fungal disease causes eye and skin infections, and sometimes the lesions are subtle.

"Some of the clues as to what's causing the death or decline in these animals withsubtle lesions is still quite a mystery," says Allender. "And so we've been spending alot of time trying to figure out how is this a threat and why is this fungal pathogen now causing issues in not just endangered rattlesnakes like the eastern massasauga butin many other species of snakes across North America."

In a new study, Allender and his colleagues looked at the microbial community living on the snakes' skin, called the microbiome.

They found the pathogen altered the snakes' microbiome.

"This is important, because for an emerging disease we want to know number one: whatis the mechanism² that leads to infection and then how can we change management or monitor management so that we can improve conservation efforts," he says.

He says with the knowledge that the fungal pathogen Ophidiomyces disrupts the snakes' microbiome, they can now start to design studies that look at ways to minimize the impact of this pathogen on the eastern massasauga.

Allender says scientists are learning more about how important the microbiome is for human and animal health.

"I think that the role of the microbiome is really, while quite a bit's known, it'sstill in its infancy³. There are lots of indications in people and in frogs and in bumblebees that the composition and the richness of microbes both fungal and bacterial⁴ on the skin, in the gut⁵, in the lungs of these animals prevents or helps to reduce the impact of severe diseases," he says.

"We're starting to see patterns that might be emerging that help us to explain thesefungal infections and the changes in the microbiome," says Allender.

1 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

2 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

3 infancy   

n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期

参考例句：

• He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
• Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。

4 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

5 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。