Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 1, 2026

Heuristic Mining of Hierarchical Genotypes and Accessory Genome Loci in Bacterial Populations
Published on: December 7, 2021
HOST POPULATION STRUCTURE AND THE EVOLUTION OF VIRULENCE: A "LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURNS"
Marc Lipsitch1, Edward Allen Herre1, Martin A Nowak1
1Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, England.
Abstract:
Structure in a population of host individuals, whether spatial or temporal, can have important effects on the transmission and evolutionary dynamics of its pathogens. One of these is to limit dispersal of pathogens and thus increase the amount of contact between a given pair or within a small group of host individuals. We introduce a "law of diminishing returns" that predicts an evolutionary decline of pathogen virulence whenever there are on average more possibilities of pathogen transmission between the same pair of hosts. Thus, the effect of repeated contact between hosts will be to shift the balance of any trade-off between virulence and transmissibility toward lower virulence.
Related Concept Videos
Population Growth
Viral Replication: Lysogenic Cycle
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift
Size and Structure of Viral Genomes
Viral Mutations
What is Population Genetics?

