Unresolved advantages of multipartitism in spatially structured environments

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Epidemiology
• Network Science

Background:

• Multipartite viruses possess segmented genomes, with each segment packaged into separate virus particles.
• The evolutionary advantages of multipartitism, common in plant viruses, are not fully understood.
• Network epidemiology models have been applied to study multipartite virus spread.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically evaluate the assumptions and relevance of network epidemiology models applied to multipartite viruses.
• To highlight potential limitations in understanding virus-host interactions and transmission dynamics.

Main Methods:

• Review and critique of network epidemiology models used for multipartite viruses.
• Analysis of model assumptions regarding host transmission and infection.

Main Results:

• The model's assumption of adjacent plant transmission overlooks the role of mobile animal vectors, crucial for many multipartite viruses.
• The assumption of incessant latent infection, even with incomplete genome segment transmission, lacks empirical support.
• These assumptions question the model's applicability to differentiating between plant and animal hosts.

Conclusions:

• The reviewed network epidemiology models may have limited relevance for understanding multipartite virus spread.
• Further model development is needed to incorporate realistic transmission routes and infection processes.
• Accurate modeling requires consideration of vector-borne transmission and evidence-based infection assumptions.