Local Interactions Select for Lower Pathogen Infectivity

Theory suggests that the current rapid increase in connectivity and consequential changes in the structure of human, agricultural, and wildlife populations may select for parasite strains with higher infectivity. We carried out a test of this spatial theory by experimentally altering individual host...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2007-03, Vol.315 (5816), p.1284-1286
Main Authors: Boots, Michael, Mealor, Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis of Variance
Animal populations
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Evolution
Disease transmission
Epidemiology. Vaccinations
Evolution
Food
Food movements
Foodborne illnesses
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution
Granulovirus - pathogenicity
Granulovirus - physiology
Infectious diseases
Insect larvae
Insecta
Invertebrates
Larva - physiology
Larva - virology
Medical sciences
Microbiology
Moths - physiology
Moths - virology
Movement
Parasite hosts
Parasites
Pathogens
Pathology
Population structure
Replicative cycle, interference, host-virus relations, pathogenicity, miscellaneous strains
Selection, Genetic
Theory
Virology
Viruses
Viscosity
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Summary:Theory suggests that the current rapid increase in connectivity and consequential changes in the structure of human, agricultural, and wildlife populations may select for parasite strains with higher infectivity. We carried out a test of this spatial theory by experimentally altering individual host movement rates in a model host/pathogen system by altering the viscosity of their environment. In our microevolutionary selection experiments, the infectivity of the virus was, as predicted by the theory, reduced in the most viscous populations. We therefore provide empirical support for the theory that population structure affects the evolution of infectious organisms.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1137126