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Effects of host heterogeneity on pathogen diversity and evolution
Arietta E Fleming-Davies1,2, Vanja Dukic3, Viggo Andreasen4
1Department of Ecology & Evolution, University of Chicago, 900 E 57th St, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA.
Ecology Letters
|September 15, 2015
Summary
Host variation in susceptibility can maintain pathogen diversity. This finding explains extensive phenotypic variation in pathogens, suggesting a general mechanism for maintaining pathogen evolution.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Pathogen dynamics
- Host-pathogen interactions
Background:
- Phenotypic variation is crucial for pathogen adaptation but its maintenance mechanisms are unclear.
- Host heterogeneity in susceptibility is hypothesized to influence pathogen diversity.
- Baculovirus infecting gypsy moth larvae serve as a model system.
Discussion:
- Host variation creates a tradeoff between pathogen transmission rate and transmission variability.
- This tradeoff allows coexistence of distinct pathogen types (low vs. high transmission).
- It explains observed phenotypic variation in pathogen fitness traits like transmission and persistence.
Key Insights:
- Host heterogeneity drives a transmission tradeoff, promoting pathogen diversity.
- A low-transmission, low-variability pathogen strategy can coexist with high-transmission types.
- This mechanism explains extensive phenotypic variation in field-collected pathogen isolates.
Outlook:
- The identified heterogeneity tradeoff may be a general mechanism for maintaining pathogen phenotypic variation.
- Further research can explore this mechanism in diverse host-pathogen systems.
- Understanding these dynamics is key for predicting pathogen evolution and managing infectious diseases.
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