Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026
07:56
Generation of a Bovine Primary Enteroid-Derived Two-Dimensional Monolayer Culture System for Applications in Translational Biomedical Research
Published on: April 5, 2024
Spatiotemporal structure of host-pathogen interactions in a metapopulation
S Soubeyrand1, A-L Laine, I Hanski
1Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, UR546 Biostatistics and Spatial Processes, 84914 Avignon, France. samuel.soubeyrand@avignon.inra.fr
The American Naturalist
|July 25, 2009
Summary
This study models fungal pathogen dynamics in a plant metapopulation. It identifies key overwintering sites that initiate seasonal epidemics, revealing spatial variation in host-pathogen interactions.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Plant Pathology
Background:
- Spatiotemporal variation in population size influences ecological and evolutionary dynamics.
- Investigating natural population dynamics across large spatial and temporal scales is challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To reconstruct continuous-time infection dynamics of an obligate fungal pathogen using discrete-time occurrence data.
- To identify overwintering sites and understand regional heterogeneity in host-pathogen interactions.
Main Methods:
- Combined mechanistic and statistical approaches.
- Analyzed 6 years of annual presence/absence data for Podosphaera plantaginis infecting Plantago lanceolata.
- Modeled infection dynamics in a metapopulation across a 50 km x 70 km area in Finland.
Main Results:
- Identified strong seasonality with high winter extinction and summer epidemic expansion for local pathogen populations.
- Pinpointed regions with successful pathogen overwintering, acting as epidemic foci.
- Observed significant regional heterogeneity in overwintering success and host-pathogen encounter rates.
Conclusions:
- Overwintering sites are crucial for initiating seasonal epidemics.
- Regional heterogeneity in host-pathogen interactions has significant implications for coevolutionary dynamics.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Microbial Interactions: Parasitism
Parasitism is a form of microbial interaction in which parasitic microbes exploit a host organism for nutrients and shelter, often at the host's expense. Unlike mutualistic relationships, where both organisms benefit, parasitism benefits only the parasite and harms the host.Classification of ParasitesMicrobial parasites are broadly classified based on their location relative to the host.Ectoparasites remain on the host’s surface, such as the skin or outer tissues, drawing nutrients...
01:25Colonisation of Pathogens
Pathogen colonization of host tissues is a critical step in the development of infectious diseases. Various pathogenic microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa, have evolved complex strategies to attach to, invade, and persist within host environments. These mechanisms enable pathogens to establish infections, evade immune responses, and resist antimicrobial treatments.Attachment to Host CellsIn bacteria, colonization typically begins with adherence to host epithelial...
00:57Population Growth
Population size is dynamic, increasing with birth rates and immigration, and decreasing with death rates and emigration. In ideal conditions with unlimited resources, populations can increase exponentially, which plots as a J-shaped growth rate curve of population size against time. This type of curve is characteristic of newly-introduced invasive species, or populations that have suffered catastrophic declines and are rebounding.However, realistic environmental conditions limit the number of...
01:28Infectious Diseases and Their Occurrence
Infectious diseases appear in populations through various transmission patterns, influenced by pathogen characteristics, population immunity, environmental conditions, and social behavior. Understanding these patterns is essential for effective public health surveillance and intervention. These categories—sporadic, outbreak, epidemic, pandemic, and endemic—help frame the nature and scope of disease events.Sporadic diseases occur irregularly and infrequently, without a predictable temporal or...
01:20Infection
When a pathogen enters the body and reproduces, it can cause an infection, damage body cells, and cause illness symptoms that eventually lead to disease. Therefore, its prevention requires breaking the chain of infection.
The chain begins with pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, or parasites such as protozoa helminths. These can be present on the skin as transient or resident flora, or they can be acquired from the environment. Identifying and treating the type of infection and...
The chain begins with pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, or parasites such as protozoa helminths. These can be present on the skin as transient or resident flora, or they can be acquired from the environment. Identifying and treating the type of infection and...
00:30What are Populations and Communities?
Populations are groups of individuals of the same species that inhabit a shared environment. Communities include multiple co-existing, interacting populations of different species. Metapopulations span multiple populations of the same species that occupy different areas. Metapopulations interact through immigration and emigration, providing genetic diversity that lends resilience to harsh environments. Population size and density can be estimated using quadrat and mark and recapture...