Our research

	The Anomaly P syndrome in amphibians In the 1950s, famous French writer and biologist Jean Rostand (1894 - 1977) discovered morphological anomalies of an unknown etiology in water frogs of the genus Pelophylax, which he named “the anomaly P”. The anomaly P is the morphological deformations of water frogs that have light and severe forms of manifestation. The light form of the anomaly is symmetrical polydactyly. Specimens suffering from severe forms of the anomaly have symmetrical brachymely, polydactyly, hind limb edema, bone outgrowths, spikes, flexions, and additional limbs in the inguinal region. The experiments with direct cercariae exposure provide compelling evidence that Strigea robusta (Trematoda: Strigeidae) leads to anomaly P in tadpoles of water frogs. The manifestation of anomaly P turned out to be dependent on the stage of development, cercariae dose, and the location of the cysts.
Genetic structure of water frog population systems We are investigating the distributions, population systems, genetic structure, types of gametes, and morphological variability of water frogs of the genus Pelophylax using morphological traits combined with DNA flow cytometry and a multilocus approach (fragments of a nuclear and two mitochondrial genes). Molecular analysis showed the presence of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA introgression of the Anatolian marsh frog (P. cf. bedriagae) into both P. ridibundus and P. esculentus. The observations of alleles and haplotypes of P. cf. bedriagae in P. ridibundus and P. esculentus individuals from the same localities suggest de novo formation of local hybrids. However, the presence of the Balkan marsh frog (P. kurtmuelleri) haplotypes in local hybrids supports the hypothesis regarding the migration of old hemiclonal lineages from glacial refugia or new case of water frogs invasion into water bodies.
	Diversity of trematodes from anomaly P hotspots Trematode infection of the second intermediate hosts can lead to changes in their fitness and, as a result, a change in the invasion rate of animal communities. It is especially pronounced during the invasion of parasite species that reduce activity due to the manipulation of hosts through the changes of their morphology and physiology. One of these cases is an anomaly P syndrome hotspot found in some populations of water frogs and toads in Europe caused by the trematode Strigea robusta metacercariae. The occurrence of pathogen and their participation in ecosystems are intrigues questions in the anomaly P phenomenon, as well as the role of planorbid snails that serve as the first intermediate hosts for many trematode species. We focused on trematodes spectra from planorbid snails and amphibians from the anomaly P hotspots with the aim to undetected interactions between the pathways of parasites.