Expanding host specificity and pathogen sharing beyond viruses

Becker, Daniel J.; Albery, Gregory F.

doi:10.1111/mec.15573

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Evaluating human disease risk from zoonotic pathogens, those shared between wildlife and humans, requires characterization of pathogen traits influencing their environmental distribution and spillover potential (Sánchez et al 2021). Recent meta-analyses and reviews have repeatedly identified host breadth, or the capacity to infect phylogenetically diverse species, as a key trait influencing spillover (Woolhouse & Gowtage-Sequeria 2005;Olival et al 2017;Becker & Albery 2020). Greater host breadth provides pathogens more opportunities for population persistence across heterogeneous environments (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent meta-analyses and reviews have repeatedly identified host breadth, or the capacity to infect phylogenetically diverse species, as a key trait influencing spillover (Woolhouse & Gowtage-Sequeria 2005; Olival et al . 2017; Becker & Albery 2020). Greater host breadth provides pathogens more opportunities for population persistence across heterogeneous environments (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Host adaptation drives genetic diversity in a vector-borne disease system

Combs

Tufts

Adams

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The range of hosts a pathogen can infect is a key trait influencing human disease risk and reservoir host infection dynamics. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (Bb), an emerging zoonotic pathogen, causes Lyme disease and is widely considered a host generalist, commonly infecting mammals and birds. Yet the extent of intraspecific variation in Bb host breadth, its role in determining host competence and potential implications to human infection remain unclear. We conducted a long-term study of Bb diversity, defined by the polymorphic ospC locus, across white-footed mice, passerine birds, and tick vectors leveraging long-read amplicon sequencing. Our results reveal strong variation in host breadth across Bb genotypes, exposing a spectrum of genotype-specific host-adapted phenotypes. We found support for multiple niche polymorphism maintaining Bb diversity in nature and little evidence of temporal shifts in genotype dominance, as would be expected under negative frequency-dependent selection. Passerine birds support the circulation of several human invasive strains in the local tick population and harbor greater Bb genotypic diversity compared to white-footed mice. Mouse-adapted Bb genotypes exhibited longer persistence in individual mice compared to non-adapted genotypes and infection communities infecting individual mice preferentially became dominated by mouse-adapted genotypes over time. We posit that intraspecific variation in Bb host breadth and specificity helps maintain overall species fitness in response to transmission by a generalist vector. Because pathogen genotypes vary in host breadth and result in diverse human disease manifestations, our findings indicate that a more nuanced definition of 'host competence' incorporating local genotype frequency is warranted.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host adaptation drives genetic diversity in a vector-borne disease system

Combs

Tufts

Adams

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Towards an ecosystem model of infectious disease

et al. 2021

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Increasingly intimate associations between human society and the natural environment are driving the emergence of novel pathogens, with devastating consequences for humans and animals alike. Prior to emergence, these pathogens exist within complex ecological systems that are characterized by trophic interactions between parasites, their hosts, and the environment.Predicting how disturbance to these ecological systems places people and animals at risk from emerging pathogens-and the best ways to manage this-remains a significant challenge.Predictive systems ecology models are powerful tools for the reconstruction of ecosystem function but have yet to be considered for modeling infectious disease. Part of this stems from a mistaken tendency to forget about the role that pathogens play in structuring the abundance and interactions of the free-living species favored by systems ecologists. Here, we explore how developing and applying these more complete systems ecology models at a landscape scale would greatly enhance our understanding of the reciprocal interactions between parasites, pathogens and the environment, placing zoonoses in an ecological context, while identifying key variables and simplifying assumptions that underly pathogen host switching and animal-tohuman spillover risk. As well as transforming our understanding of disease ecology, this would also allow us to better direct resources in preparation for future pandemics.

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Host adaptation drives genetic diversity in a vector-borne disease system

et al. 2023

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The range of hosts a pathogen can infect is a key trait, influencing human disease risk and reservoir host infection dynamics. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (Bb), an emerging zoonotic pathogen, causes Lyme disease and is widely considered a host generalist, commonly infecting mammals and birds. Yet the extent of intraspecific variation in Bb host breadth, its role in determining host competence, and potential implications for human infection remain unclear. We conducted a long-term study of Bb diversity, defined by the polymorphic ospC locus, across white-footed mice, passerine birds, and tick vectors, leveraging long-read amplicon sequencing. Our results reveal strong variation in host breadth across Bb genotypes, exposing a spectrum of genotype-specific host-adapted phenotypes. We found support for multiple niche polymorphism, maintaining Bb diversity in nature and little evidence of temporal shifts in genotype dominance, as would be expected under negative frequency-dependent selection. Passerine birds support the circulation of several human-invasive strains (HISs) in the local tick population and harbor greater Bb genotypic diversity compared with white-footed mice. Mouse-adapted Bb genotypes exhibited longer persistence in individual mice compared with nonadapted genotypes. Genotype communities infecting individual mice preferentially became dominated by mouse-adapted genotypes over time. We posit that intraspecific variation in Bb host breadth and adaptation helps maintain overall species fitness in response to transmission by a generalist vector.

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Expanding host specificity and pathogen sharing beyond viruses

Cited by 3 publications

References 12 publications

Host adaptation drives genetic diversity in a vector-borne disease system

Host adaptation drives genetic diversity in a vector-borne disease system

Towards an ecosystem model of infectious disease

Host adaptation drives genetic diversity in a vector-borne disease system

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