# chytrid



## marylanddartfrog (Jun 6, 2011)

Quick question i have a friend that supects a retf he got has chytrid fungus my father is a pathologist and agreed swab for the frog to test the fungus but would like to know which slide stain to use anyone know which stain will bring out the fungus?


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## marylanddartfrog (Jun 6, 2011)

Anyone???might have to wait to hear a response from super ed


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Swabbing and inspection of the swab under the microscope isn't an ideal way of resolving whether or not the frog is infected. A negative won't indicate that the frog does not have chytrid.. the literature also indicates that there are risks of misidentification. You are better off with histopathology of skin samples or PCR analysis. 

See 

DETECTION OF BATRACHOCHYTRIUM DENDROBATIDIS IN ELEUTHERODACTYLUS FITZINGERI: EFFECTS OF SKIN SAMPLE LOCATION AND HISTOLOGIC STAIN

http://www.zoosprint.org/ZooPrintJournal/2000/January/184-190.pdf

As for staining see ScienceDirect - Mycologist : Congo Red, an effective stain for revealing the chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, in epidermal skin scrapings from frogs

Efficacy of SYBR 14/propidium iodide viabili... [Dis Aquat Organ. 2010] - PubMed - NCBI


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