Modern genetics vs. ancient frog-kill...(sms in the evolutionary tree. This ...)

"This fungus is strange and different, partly because it is so ancient," said Rosenblum. "One of the really amazing and wonderful things about this genetic technology is that we can take something we don't know anything about, sequence its whole genome, look at what each gene is doing in different life stages, and learn a tremendous amount about the organism."

Rosenblum and her team will continue their quest to stop Bd from killing off frog species in several ways. They currently are comparing active genes in Bd grown on frog skin to Bd grown in a test tube without exposure to keratin. Also, they plan to sequence genomes from different strains of Bd that kill less efficiently, or other, similar fungi that don't kill amphibians at all.

They also will study the parasite from the other side of the coin the frog's point of view. By comparing different species of frogs, some of which are not killed by Bd, they hope to discover what genes make different species more or less susceptible to the fungus.

"The strength of these studies is the collaboration of ecologists and disease biologists," said Rosenblum. "We are not just choosing one factor to study. Looking at absolutely every gene in the genome is now a financially and practically feasible thing to do."

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