2026-09-24T16:41:48Z https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/127514 2026-02-03 col_2142_5131 col_2142_16405 com_2142_5130 com_2142_16404 com_2142_14833

Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2026-12-01 The student, Amanda Wong, accepted the attached license on 2024-12-09 at 12:01. The student, Amanda Wong, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2024-12-09 at 12:15. This Thesis was approved for publication on 2024-12-11 at 16:19. DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #21550 on 2025-03-28 at 14:57:06 application/pdf en text Evaluation of diagnostic modalities for the detection of Nannizziopsis guarroi in experimentally infected bearded dragons (Pogona vittticeps) Wong, Amanda Danielle 2024-12-11 Keller, Krista A Allender, Matthew C Terio, Karen A Reinhart, Jennifer M Bearded Dragon Pogona Pogona Vitticeps Lizard Fungal Fungus Nannizziopsis Nannizziopsis Guarroi eng Nannizziopsis guarroi causes mycotic dermatitis, colloquially known as “yellow fungus disease,” in lizards. Several fungal diagnostic assays may detect this microbe in clinical cases, but the clinical performance of these assays has yet to be explored. Six adult bearded dragons were cutaneously exposed to N. guarroi along the dorsal midline and serially sampled over five months as clinical cutaneous lesions developed. The median dates of first test positivity for fungal culture, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and commercially available next-generation sequencing (NGS) tests were 28, 6, and 17.5 days prior to lesion development, respectively. Lesions did not fluoresce under long-wave ultraviolent illumination. Femoral pores were a frequent site of infection in all four male lizards, representing a novel presentation. Additionally, one lizard developed subclinical granulomatous N. guarroi pneumonia. Postmortem assessment of diagnostics identified a high level of agreement between histopathology, fungal culture, and qPCR, however, cytologic agreement with histopathology was poor. Fungal culture, qPCR, and NGS are appropriate screening tools for detection of N. guarroi prior to the onset of cutaneous lesions and may all be used as diagnostic tools to confirm N. guarroi infection in clinically affected bearded dragons. 2024-12 Thesis https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127514 Copyright 2024 Amanda Wong Vet Clinical Medicine VMS - Veterinary Clinical Medicine University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign M.S. Thesis