The decline in frog populations is a well-recognized worldwide phenomenon and infectious disease has been implicated as a major cause in the global decline of amphibian populations. Rana pipiens are disappearing from many habitats where they used to flourish, and environmental acidification has been considered as a possible contributor to this disappearance. We present a model that integrates t...

Splicing reverses protein’s function Alternative splicing transforms a protein that stimulates calcium uptake into one that inhibits it, Rana et al. discover. The proteins STIM1 and STIM2 sense when the endoplasmic reticulum is running low on calcium. They then prod Orai channels in the plasma membrane to open and allow more calcium into the cell through a process called store-operated calcium ...

Amphibian populations around the world are threatened by an emerging infectious pathogen, the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). How can a fungal skin infection kill such a broad range of amphibian hosts? And do different host species have a similar response to Bd infection? Here, we use a genomics approach to understand the genetic response of multiple susceptible frog species...

Antimicrobial peptides in the skin secretions of anurans constitute a component of the innate immunity that protects the organism against invading pathogens. Four peptides with antimicrobial activity were isolated in high yield from norepinephrine-stimulated skin secretions of the Northern red-legged frog Rana aurora aurora and their primary structures determined. Ranatuerin-2AUa (GILSSFKGVAKGV...

Nitric oxide synthase activity was studied by means of NADPH-diaphorase activity and nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity in the main and accessory olfactory bulbs of the frog Rana perezi and the newt Triturus marmoratus. In both species, NADPH-diaphorase staining was observed in all olfactory fibers. Vomeronasal fibers were NADPH-diaphorase-positive in Triturus but they were NADPH-diaphorase...

Predation can affect prey behavior, demography, abundance, and distribution, particularly in lentic freshwater ecosystems. Fish are predators known to reduce the abundance of their restrict distribution species. Using time series which spanned 43 22 yr, respectively, we analyzed effect a change fish predator community on dynamics two pond-breeding amphibian populations (Rana temporaria Rana dal...