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Parasite host range and the evolution of host resistance
F A Gorter1,2, A R Hall1, A Buckling1
1Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Journal of Evolutionary Biology
|April 9, 2015
Summary
Parasite host range impacts host resistance evolution. Resistance evolves slower to coevolved phages, but phage host range doesn't affect resistance likelihood in bacteria and viruses.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Microbial ecology
- Virology
Background:
- Parasite host range is crucial for host-parasite coevolution and disease emergence.
- Factors influencing host range and its epidemiological effects are known, but its impact on host resistance evolution is less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of parasite host range on the evolution of host resistance.
- To determine if parasite host range influences the rate and breadth of host resistance evolution.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25 as the host.
- Employed a diverse set of coevolved lytic bacteriophages (Φ2) with varying host ranges.
- Compared resistance evolution rates to coevolved phages versus ancestral phages.
Main Results:
- Resistance evolution to coevolved phages occurred at a lower rate (approx. 50%) compared to ancestral phages (approx. 100%).
- The host range of coevolved phages did not influence the likelihood of resistance evolution.
- Host range of parasites did not affect the breadth of resistance in naïve hosts, but resistance to one parasite conferred cross-resistance to related parasites.
Conclusions:
- Parasite host range does not directly dictate the likelihood of host resistance evolution.
- Cross-resistance to related parasites is a significant correlated response in host resistance evolution.
- Findings inform understanding of resistance evolution in microbial systems and phage therapy development.
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