Plasticity, not genetic variation, drives infection success of a fungal parasite

Searle, Catherine; Ochs, Jessica Housley; Cáceres, Carla E.; Chiang, Shu-Chi; Hall, Spencer R.; Duffy, Meghan A.

doi:10.1017/s0031182015000013

Cited by 42 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Metschnikowia bicuspidata traits can respond plastically to different host environments (Searle et al. ), but there is no variation in infectivity or virulence among isolates collected from different lakes (Duffy and Sivars‐Becker ; Searle et al. ).…”

Section: The Spatial Scale Of Host–parasite Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Understanding the ecology and evolution of host–parasite interactions across scales

Penczykowski

Laine

Koskella

2015

Evolutionary Applications

171

132

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Predicting the emergence, spread and evolution of parasites within and among host populations requires insight to both the spatial and temporal scales of adaptation, including an understanding of within‐host up through community‐level dynamics. Although there are very few pathosystems for which such extensive data exist, there has been a recent push to integrate studies performed over multiple scales or to simultaneously test for dynamics occurring across scales. Drawing on examples from the literature, with primary emphasis on three diverse host–parasite case studies, we first examine current understanding of the spatial structure of host and parasite populations, including patterns of local adaptation and spatial variation in host resistance and parasite infectivity. We then explore the ways to measure temporal variation and dynamics in host–parasite interactions and discuss the need to examine change over both ecological and evolutionary timescales. Finally, we highlight new approaches and syntheses that allow for simultaneous analysis of dynamics across scales. We argue that there is great value in examining interplay among scales in studies of host–parasite interactions.

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Section: The Spatial Scale Of Host–parasite Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…), but there is no variation in infectivity or virulence among isolates collected from different lakes (Duffy and Sivars‐Becker ; Searle et al. ). The parasite also has not responded to selection in laboratory experiments (Duffy and Sivars‐Becker ; Auld et al.…”

Section: The Spatial Scale Of Host–parasite Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the ecology and evolution of host–parasite interactions across scales

Penczykowski

Laine

Koskella

2015

Evolutionary Applications

171

132

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Recent studies have found essentially no genetic variation in the fungal pathogen, reducing the likelihood of genotype × genotype interactions (Searle et al. ). However, genetic variation within natural D. dentifera populations could influence pathogen transmission dynamics through heterogeneity in resistance, or spore production per host (Carius et al.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Competition‐mediated feedbacks in experimental multispecies epizootics

Dallas¹,

Hall²,

Drake³

2016

Ecology

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Competition structures ecological communities and alters host–pathogen interactions. In environmentally transmitted pathogens, an infection‐resistant competitor may influence infection dynamics in a susceptible species through the negative impacts of competition (e.g., by reducing host density or causing nutritional stress that increases susceptibility to infection) and/or the positive impacts of reducing transmission efficiency (e.g., by removing environmental pathogen stages). Thus, a non‐susceptible competitor may enhance, reduce, or have no net effect on susceptible host density and infection prevalence. Here, we couple an epidemiological model with experimental epidemics to test how resource competition with a non‐susceptible competitor (Daphnia pulicaria) influences fungal microparasite (Metschnikowia bicuspidata) infection dynamics in a susceptible host species (D. dentifera). Our model and experiments suggest that competitor density can mediate the direction and magnitude of the effect of competition on infection dynamics, with a peak in infection prevalence occurring at intermediate competitor densities. At low densities, the non‐susceptible competitor D. pulicaria may reduce infection prevalence in the susceptible host by removing fungal spores from the environment through feeding. However, when competitor density is increased and resources become limiting, D. pulicaria negatively impacts the susceptible host by increasing susceptible host feeding rates, and therefore fungal spore intake, and further by reducing susceptible host population size as it is driven toward competitive exclusion. In conclusion, these results show that a tradeoff between the competitor as a consumer of pathogen, which serves to reduce epidemic size, and as a modifier of susceptible host foraging ecology, which influences infection rates, may alternately enhance or dampen the magnitude of local epidemics.

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“…We have cultured this parasite on a variety of D. pulex genotypes since 2011 (and on genotypes of the host congener Daphnia dentifera since 2003, Hall et al ). In host D. dentifera, M. bicuspidata exhibits no detectable genetic variation across its range (Duffy and Sivars‐Becker , Searle et al ). This lack of parasite diversity, the corresponding absence of any significant response to selection (Auld et al ), and our use of novel D. pulex genotypes likely precluded the development of particular host genotype/parasite strain associations in our experiment.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraspecific trait variation and colonization sequence alter community assembly and disease epidemics

Dibble

Rudolf

2015

Oikos

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When individuals from multiple populations colonize a new habitat patch, intraspecific trait variation can make the arrival order of colonists an important factor for subsequent population and community dynamics. In particular, intraspecific priority effects (IPEs) allow early arrivers to limit the growth or establishment of later arrivers, even when competitively inferior on a per-capita basis. Through their effects on genes and traits, IPEs can alter short-term growth and long-term evolutionary change in single species metapopulations. Given their importance for intraspecific interactions, IPEs in a dominant species have the potential to affect the composition of entire communities. We conducted an experiment to determine whether and how arrival order and IPEs in the zooplankter Daphnia pulex affected its interactions with both competitors (the cladoceran Simocephalus vetulus) and parasites (the virulent fungus Metschnikowia bicuspidata). We found strong evidence for IPEs in Daphnia, as early arrivers inhibited late arrivers even when competitively inferior. These IPEs in Daphnia altered both the establishment success of interspecific competitors and the size of disease epidemics: early colonization by fast-growing D. pulex led to large Daphnia populations and low competitor establishment, but large disease epidemics. Early colonization by slow-growing D. pulex, on the other hand, resulted in small Daphnia populations with high competitor establishment, but smaller disease epidemics. Overall, our results demonstrate the importance of intraspecific variation and arrival order for community dynamics, and highlight IPEs as a general mechanism driving variation in natural communities.

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Plasticity, not genetic variation, drives infection success of a fungal parasite

Cited by 42 publications

References 66 publications

Understanding the ecology and evolution of host–parasite interactions across scales

Understanding the ecology and evolution of host–parasite interactions across scales

Competition‐mediated feedbacks in experimental multispecies epizootics

Intraspecific trait variation and colonization sequence alter community assembly and disease epidemics

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