Early-Armored Toads: Tadpole-Derived Peptides Help Pyrenees Amphibians Beat Deadly Fungus
Researchers studying Pyrenean midwife toads found that some populations survive the deadly chytrid fungus by maturing skin antimicrobial peptides earlier in development, likely aided by a diversity of peptides produced during the tadpole stage; this early immune defense prevents the fungus from taking hold, offering new insight for amphibian conservation and potential antimicrobial leads for human medicine, while warming alpine habitats threaten these refuges.