Tanya, Isaac and Leila

Chytrids Information Sheet

What are they?
- It is a fungus in the phylum Chytridiomycota and in the supergroup
Opisthokonta.
- One of 1,000 other fungi part of the chytridiomycota group.
- They are decomposers and feast on dead or rotting organic matter and animals
- They are also able to mutate and act as predators to other organisms, they are
considered parasites (this particular fungus live off of and genetically alter the host they enter).
What do they look like?
- Chytrids form colonies with hyphae and others exists as singular spherical cells
- Have cell walls made of Chitin, have common traits with other fungi groups, such as: key enzymes,
multicellular and metabolic pathways
- Unique trait: have flagellated zoospores and produce haploid as well as diploid nuclei via mitosis in the
hyphae
What do they do?
- Chytrids are actually very dangerous when they are parasites.
EX. Bd or Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a fungal parasite that has in recent
years wiped out hundreds of amphibian populations to extinction. (About 200-500
species have become extinct)
- 30% of fungi are deadly
- Chytrids (Bd) can cause severe skin infections leads to massive die-offs in frogs.
- They can reproduce either through sexual or asexual means
- They heterotrophs that get their food by absorbing it from the environment around
them, whether that is in a frog or in an aqueous habitat.
Where do they live?
- Primarily live in aqueous habitats; lakes, ponds, rivers, etc.
- Some are even found in soil
- They also live on plants and in invertebrate animals as a fungal parasite, dont worry they cant harm
humans
- Chytrids thrive and are deadly to amphibians - frogs
Why is it important to know about Chytrids?
- It can be treated through medications and disinfections
- Chytrids spread preferably in moist and cooler environments and the
zoospore flagella aids this movement.
Spread primarily via infected organism to uninfected
organism
Humans can cause spread of Bd
- IUCN describes Chytridiomytocis as: the worst infectious

disease ever recorded among vertebrates in terms of the

number of species impacted, and its propensity to drive them
extinction. (Amphibian Ark, 2014)

to

- Chytrids is not the only thing that affects the wipeout of amphibian
populations; the loss of habitat and space also causes large threats to frog species.

References:
Reece. J. B et al. (2015). Campbell Biology. Canada: Pearson Education.
Pessier. A. 2014. Chytrid Fungus. Amphibian Ark. http://www.amphibianark.org/the-crisis/chytrid-fungus/.
Accessed 27, 28, 01/10/14.
Blog spot. Infolinks [internet] life of plant. http://lifeofplant.blogspot.ca/2011/05/chytrids.html. Accessed 27, 28,
01/10/14.