Abstract
Identification of the determinants of pathogen reservoir potential is central to understand disease emergence. It has been proposed that host lifespan is one such determinant: short-lived hosts will invest less in costly defenses against pathogens, so that they will be more susceptible to infection, more competent as sources of infection and/or will sustain larger vector populations, thus being effective reservoirs for the infection of long-lived hosts. This hypothesis is sustained by analyses of different hosts of multihost pathogens, but not of different genotypes of the same host species. Here we examined this hypothesis by comparing two genotypes of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana that differ largely both in life-span and in tolerance to its natural pathogen Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). Experiments with the aphid vector Myzus persicae showed that both genotypes were similarly competent as sources for virus transmission, but the short-lived genotype was more susceptible to infection and was able to sustain larger vector populations. To explore how differences in defense against CMV and its vector relate to reservoir potential, we developed a model that was run for a set of experimentally-determined parameters, and for a realistic range of host plant and vector population densities. Model simulations showed that the less efficient defenses of the short-lived genotype resulted in higher reservoir potential, which in heterogeneous host populations may be balanced by the longer infectious period of the long-lived genotype. This balance was modulated by the demography of both host and vector populations, and by the genetic composition of the host population. Thus, within-species genetic diversity for lifespan and defenses against pathogens will result in polymorphisms for pathogen reservoir potential, which will condition within-population infection dynamics. These results are relevant for a better understanding of host-pathogen co-evolution, and of the dynamics of pathogen emergence.
Highlights
Understanding the complex interplay of factors resulting in pathogen emergence has been a major goal of evolutionary ecology for the last twenty years, as emerging infectious diseases often have a high impact in human and animal health, agriculture and conservation [1,2,3,4,5]
For vector-transmitted pathogens, three epidemiological parameters have been underscored as modulating host reservoir potential: i) the probability that a vector acquires the pathogen when feeding on an infected host, ii) the probability that a host is infected by a feeding vector that carries the pathogen, and iii) the ability of the host to sustain vector populations [6,7,8].These parameters vary among host species and genotypes [2,6,7,8,9], and knowing which factors determine such variation will facilitate identifying the potential of a host as a reservoir for pathogen emergence
Host lifespan is considered as one such determinant: short-lived hosts will invest less in defenses, being more susceptible to infection, more competent as infection sources and/or will sustain larger vector populations, and are effective reservoirs for long-lived host infection
Summary
Understanding the complex interplay of factors resulting in pathogen emergence has been a major goal of evolutionary ecology for the last twenty years, as emerging infectious diseases often have a high impact in human and animal health, agriculture and conservation [1,2,3,4,5]. Identifying the causes that determine the reservoir potential of a host, i.e., its ability to sustain pathogen populations for transmission to the target host, is central for understanding emergence and, more generally, infection dynamics. For vector-transmitted pathogens, three epidemiological parameters have been underscored as modulating host reservoir potential: i) the probability that a vector acquires the pathogen when feeding on an infected host (host competence), ii) the probability that a host is infected by a feeding vector that carries the pathogen (host susceptibility), and iii) the ability of the host to sustain vector populations [6,7,8].These parameters vary among host species and genotypes [2,6,7,8,9], and knowing which factors determine such variation will facilitate identifying the potential of a host as a reservoir for pathogen emergence
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