BIONTES MAGAZINE

Viruses and amphibians: mortal enemies or allies?

Like all good superheroes, amphibians have extraordinary abilities and a fatal weakness. For amphibians, the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is their kryptonite, but they do not face this enemy alone, as they receive help from bacteria that live on their skin and are capable of stopping or inhibiting the fungus. In addition, other characters with antihero characteristics inhabit the skin of amphibians. For example, viruses, which can play the role of villains or allies in the fight against one of their worst enemies, the Bd fungus.
https://www.biontes.com/post/virus-y-anfibios-enemigos-mortales-o-aliados
PUBLICATION DATE: APRIL 21, 2025.
Written by Alejandro Miguel Cisneros Martínez

This short film/behind the scenes, created in collaboration with the filmmakers Colectivo Colmena, portrays the days of work at the Center for Genomic Sciences (CCG), UNAM, where the artists (Cirrina Lab, Isaac Soto, Concepción Huerta and Opuntia) worked together with the scientists Eria Rebollar and Alberto Hernández Orta to develop B95-11.

Puertas Abiertas CCG-UNAM
February, 2024

PIE DE PAGINA MAGAZINE

Eria and the immunity of AXOLOTLS
Biologist Eria Rebollar has spent the last few years monitoring salamander populations in Mexico trying to understand the secret that salamanders hopefully hold: they seem to be immune to Bd, one of the fungi that have wiped out dozens of amphibian species.
https://piedepagina.mx/eria-y-la-inmunidad-de-los-ajolotes/
PUBLICATION DATE: NOVEMBER 13, 2022.
Written by Agustín Ávila Casanueva.

CIENCIA UNAM
https://ciencia.unam.mx/leer/1299/estudiar-los-microbiomas-de-anfibios-un-campo-de-investigacion-reciente

Studying amphibian microbiomes, a recent field of research
The study of the community of microorganisms that are part of an organism has gained relevance in recent decades… Among the first discoveries are that some of the bacteria that inhabit the skin of amphibians have the ability to inhibit the growth of pathogenic fungi…
PUBLICATION DATE: AUGUST 22, 2022.
Written by María Luisa Santillán, Ciencia UNAM-DGDC

Revista Ciencias y Humanidades CONACyT
The salamanders and microbiome in the face of lethal emerging diseases
For several decades, the biodiversity of the planet has been under serious threat … Amphibians are among the most endangered groups, not only by human activity, but also by an emerging disease called chytridiomycosis ….


Authors: Eria A. Rebollar Publication Name: Revista Ciencias y Humanidades CONACyT, Num 2 Bimestre Nov-Dic, p25-28.
PUBLICATION DATE: DECEMBER 10, 2021.
Dirección web: https://conacyt.mx/ciencias-y-humanidades-num-2-noviembre-diciembre-2021/

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