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When are pathogen dynamics likely to reflect host population genetic structure?
Citation
Carver, S and Lunn, T, When are pathogen dynamics likely to reflect host population genetic structure?, Molecular ecology, 29, (5) pp. 859-861. ISSN 0962-1083 (2020) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Abstract
Does the structure and connectivity of host populations influence the dynamics and evolution of their pathogens? This topical question is the essence of research investigating the ecology of a Pteropus fruit bat and its zoonotic Nipah virus (NiV) published by Olival et al. in this issue of Molecular Ecology. Questioned less overtly, but nonetheless implicit to the study, is "what are the mechanisms underpinning intraspecific host-pathogen congruence (IHPC) of genetic structure?". Olival et al. investigated the phylogeographical structure of Pteropus medius and NiV isolates across Bangladesh, from areas inside and outside of the Nipah belt-an area where most human spillover events occur. A high degree of host panmixia was discovered, with some population differentiation east of the Nipah belt. NiV genetic structure was congruent with the host. The authors attributed the panmixia and structuring, respectively, to (a) the highly vagile nature of P. medius, and (b) possible differences between bioregions within and outside the Nipah belt. Other potential explanatory mechanisms were acknowledged, including hybridization and transmission mode. This study makes a valuable contribution to a growing body of literature examining IHPC. This has implications not only for pathogen spillover to humans and domestic animals, but more generally for thinking about the mechanisms that underlie patterns of host and pathogen genetic associations.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Epidemiology |
| Research Division: | Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences |
| Research Group: | Veterinary sciences |
| Research Field: | Veterinary parasitology |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
| Objective Group: | Terrestrial systems and management |
| Objective Field: | Control of pests, diseases and exotic species in terrestrial environments |
| UTAS Author: | Carver, S (Associate Professor Scott Carver) |
| ID Code: | 149652 |
| Year Published: | 2020 |
| Funding Support: | Australian Research Council (DP190102020) |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 1 |
| Deposited By: | Zoology |
| Deposited On: | 2022-04-05 |
| Last Modified: | 2022-05-05 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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