An endangered Australian frog species has begun to naturally fight off a deadly fungus that is killing frog populations around the world.
Scientists at Southern Cross University found Fleay's barred frogs in northern New South Wales and south-east Queensland had developed a natural resistance to the amphibian chytrid fungus.
Senior lecturer David Newell said the resistance was new.
"This frog was one of those species initially impacted by this fungus and some 30 years on we've now seen a natural immune response," he said.
Dr Newell said there was a chance the development would be useful in helping other frogs join the fight against the pathogen that had already wiped out seven native relatives and hundreds more globally.
"We can look at how the [Fleay's barred] frog has developed an immune response and [whether] there is a genetic marker," Dr Newell said.
"And we can look at trying to improve the health of other more critically endangered populations in other parts of the world."
Dr Newell said the research was led by PhD student Matthijs Hollanders who focused specifically on Fleay's frogs in rainforest streams.
He said Mr Hollanders was tagging and swabbing individual frogs to identify if they had the pathogen and then recapturing them.
"Through that process he developed some complex mathematical models to account for their survival probabilities, based on whether they were infected and what the intensity of infection was," he said.
"He found this particular frog is able to clear infections more often than it gains infection.
"It is great to have a good news story when we are talking about these frogs because there are not many of them."
Mystery deaths continue
Australian Museum biologist Jodi Rowley, who is currently investigating recent mortality events among frogs across the country, said the new research was "fantastic news" for the entire frog population.
"Our fingers are firmly crossed that more frog species, including our threatened species and the iconic green tree frog, will be able to live alongside this awful pathogen," she said.
While the chytrid fungus had played a key role, she said it was not the sole cause of a "really complicated murder mystery" under investigation.
"We're going down lots of different avenues, looking at toxins, other potential fungal diseases and other diseases as well," she said.
The Australian Museum runs a citizen science project, FrogID which asks people all over the country to document frog deaths.
"It is still nose to grindstone trying to figure out what is going on," she said.
