Pathogens play an important part in shaping the structure and dynamics of natural communities, because species are not affected by them equally 1,2 . A shared goal of ecology and epidemiology is to predict when a species is most vulnerable to disease. A leading hypothesis asserts that the impact of disease should increase with host abundance, producing a 'rare-species advantage' 3-5 . However, the impact of a pathogen may be decoupled from host abundance, because most pathogens infect more than one species, leading to pathogen spillover onto closely related species 6,7 . Here we show that the phylogenetic and ecological structure of the surrounding community can be important predictors of disease pressure. We found that the amount of tissue lost to disease increased with the relative abundance of a species across a grassland plant community, and that this rare-species advantage had an additional phylogenetic component: disease pressure was stronger on species with many close relatives. We used a global model of pathogen sharing as a function of relatedness between hosts, which provided a robust predictor of relative disease pressure at the local scale. In our grassland, the total amount of disease was most accurately explained not by the abundance of the focal host alone, but by the abundance of all species in the community weighted by their phylogenetic distance to the host. Furthermore, the model strongly predicted observed disease pressure for 44 novel host species we introduced experimentally to our study site, providing evidence for a mechanism to explain why phylogenetically rare species are more likely to become invasive when introduced 8,9 . Our results demonstrate how the phylogenetic and ecological structure of communities can have a key role in disease dynamics, with implications for the maintenance of biodiversity, biotic resistance against introduced weeds, and the success of managed plants in agriculture and forestry.Plant pathogens can be important drivers of community diversity, structure and dynamics 1,2,10,11 . A basic premise of epidemiology is that pathogen transmission often increases with host density 12,13 . Densitydependent disease provides a mechanism for the maintenance of plant diversity in natural communities, in which locally uncommon species enjoy a rare-species advantage-based on lower enemy pressure-that mitigates the competitive impacts of dominant species 3-5 . Reports of density-dependent disease dynamics generally infer the potential effects on communities from studies of one or a few species 2 , while community-level studies 1 are scarce but essential to evaluate whether such a rarespecies advantage predicts patterns of disease across a community.An ongoing debate concerns how community context influences disease, and particularly whether biodiversity suppresses infection and emerging diseases 14,15 . If increasing the number of species in a community reduces the density of competent hosts or the frequency of infected vectors, then biodiversity shows a suppressive 'dilution e...

Cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection may increase HIV risk. Since other genital infections enhance HIV susceptibility by inducing inflammation, we assessed the impact of HPV infection and clearance on genital immunology and the cervico-vaginal microbiome. Genital samples were collected from 65 women for HPV testing, immune studies and microbiota assessment; repeat HPV testing was performed after 6 months. All participants were HIV-uninfected and free of bacterial STIs. Cytobrush-derived T cell and dendritic cell subsets were assessed by multiparameter flow cytometry. Undiluted cervico-vaginal secretions were used to determine cytokine levels by multiplex ELISA, and to assess bacterial community composition and structure by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Neither HPV infection nor clearance were associated with broad differences in cervical T cell subsets or cytokines, although HPV clearance was associated with increased Langerhans cells and HPV infection with elevated IP-10 and MIG. Individuals with HPV more frequently had a high diversity cervico-vaginal microbiome (community state type IV) and were less likely to have an L. gasseri predominant microbiome. In summary, HPV infection and/or subsequent clearance was not associated with inflammation or altered cervical T cell subsets, but associations with increased Langerhans cells and the composition of the vaginal microbiome warrant further exploration.

Summary• Plant defense compounds are common stressors encountered by endophytes. Fungi readily evolve tolerance to these compounds, yet few studies have addressed the influence of intraspecific variation in defense compound production on endophyte colonization. We compared the influence of defense compound production on the composition of fungal endophyte communities in replicated field experiments.• Maize (Zea mays) produces benzoxazinoids (BXs), compounds with antifungal byproducts persistent in the environment. Fungi were isolated from leaf and root tissue of two maize genotypes that produce BXs, and a natural mutant that does not. Isolates representing the species recovered were tested for tolerance to 2-benzoxazolinone (BOA), a toxic BX byproduct.• In seedling roots and mature leaves, the community proportion with low BOA tolerance was significantly greater in BX nonproducers than producers. Mean isolation frequency of Fusarium species was up to 35 times higher in mature leaves of BX producers than nonproducers.• Fungal species with relatively high tolerance to BOA are more abundant in BX producing than BX nonproducing maize. Production of BXs may increase colonization by Fusarium species in maize, including agents of animal toxicosis and yield-reducing disease in maize. Overall, results indicate that production of defense compounds can significantly alter endophyte community assembly.

Background. Genital inflammation is a key determinant of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission, and may increase HIV-susceptible target cells and alter epithelial integrity. Several genital conditions that increase HIV risk are more prevalent in African, Caribbean, and other black (ACB) women, including bacterial vaginosis and herpes simplex virus type-2 (HSV-2) infection. Therefore, we assessed the impact of the genital microbiota on mucosal immunology in ACB women and microbiome-HSV-2 interactions.Methods. Cervicovaginal secretions and endocervical cells were collected by cytobrush and Instead Softcup, respectively. T cells and dendritic cells were assessed by flow cytometry, cytokines by multiplex enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the microbiota by 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid gene sequencing.Results. The cervicovaginal microbiota of 51 participants were composed of community state types (CSTs) showing diversity (20/51; 39%) or predominated by Lactobacillus iners (22/51; 42%), L. crispatus (7/51; 14%), or L. gasseri (2/51; 4%). High-diversity CSTs and specific bacterial phyla (Gardnerella vaginalis and Prevotella bivia) were strongly associated with cervicovaginal inflammatory cytokines, but not with altered endocervical immune cells. However, cervical CD4 + T-cell number was associated with HSV-2 infection and a distinct cytokine profile.Conclusions. This suggests that the genital microbiota and HSV-2 infection may influence HIV susceptibility through independent biological mechanisms.

All plants, including crop species, harbor a community of fungal endophyte species, yet we know little about the biotic factors that are important in endophyte community assembly. We suggest that the most direct route to understanding the mechanisms underlying community assembly is through the study of functional trait variation in the host and its fungal consortium. We review studies on crop endophytes that investigate plant and fungal traits likely to be important in endophyte community processes. We focus on approaches that could speed detection of general trends in endophyte community assembly: (i) use of the ‘assembly rules’ concept to identify specific mechanisms that influence endophyte community dynamics, (ii) measurement of functional trait variation in plants and fungi to better understand endophyte community processes and plant–fungal interactions, and (iii) investigation of microbe–microbe interactions, and fungal traits that mediate them. This approach is well suited for research in agricultural systems, where pair-wise host–fungus interactions and mechanisms of fungal–fungal competition have frequently been described. Areas for consideration include the possibility that human manipulation of crop phenotype and deployment of fungal biocontrol species can significantly influence endophyte community assembly. Evaluation of endophyte assembly rules may help to fine-tune crop management strategies.