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Batarachochytrium

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a unique fungus responsible for chytridiomycosis, an emerging infectious disease that is responsible for global amphibian declines. First identified in 1998 on frogs originating from Australia and Central America, B. dendrobatidis has now been reported to be killing frogs on every continent except Asia and Antarctica. Despite international collaboration and considerable research effort, investigators remain baffled by this novel pathogen; the mechanism by which it rapidly spreads, the origin of the species and how it kills frogs remain a mystery. The genome sequence of B. dendrobatidis will facilitate studies of its pathogenicity and its epidemiology. Scientifically, the genome of B. dendrobatidis is particularly important because it will be the first representative sequenced of the Chytridiomycota, the most basal fungal phyla. Comparative genomics with other fungi, protozoans and animals may help to elucidate the genetic and developmental characters present at this pivotal point of evolutionary divergence.