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Using a Bacterial Pathogen to Probe for Cellular and Organismic-level Host Responses
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Using a Bacterial Pathogen to Probe for Cellular and Organismic-level Host Responses

Published on: February 22, 2019

Common garden experiment reveals pathogen isolate but no host genetic diversity effect on the dynamics of an emerging

D M Hawley1, K V Dhondt, A P Dobson

  • 1Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. hawleyd@vt.edu

Journal of Evolutionary Biology
|June 22, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Native house finches show resistance to Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG), but not due to genetic diversity. Isolate virulence, not host diversity, influences disease prevalence.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Disease Ecology
  • Avian Pathogens

Background:

  • Host genetic diversity is a key factor influencing pathogen resistance in populations.
  • Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis, caused by Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG), shows lower prevalence in native North American house finches compared to introduced populations.
  • Introduced house finch populations often exhibit reduced genetic diversity due to population bottlenecks.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether reduced genetic diversity in introduced house finch populations contributes to higher Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) prevalence.
  • To determine if native house finches possess greater resistance to MG than introduced populations.
  • To assess the role of Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) isolate virulence in disease dynamics.

Main Methods:

  • A common garden experiment was conducted using wild-caught western (native) and eastern (introduced) North American house finches.
  • Finches were challenged with representative eastern or western MG isolates.
  • Neutral genetic diversity and host resistance were assessed.

Main Results:

  • Introduced finches exhibited lower neutral genetic diversity than native finches, as expected.
  • No evidence was found supporting a population-level genetic diversity effect on host resistance to MG.
  • Significant differences were detected in MG isolate virulence, with western isolates showing lower virulence but higher pathogen loads in both host groups.

Conclusions:

  • Contemporary differences in host genetic diversity do not appear to explain the lower prevalence of Mycoplasma conjunctivitis in native house finches.
  • Isolate-level differences in Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) virulence play a significant role in disease dynamics and prevalence.
  • Further research into pathogen evolution and its interaction with host populations is warranted.

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