Population Biology of Multihost Pathogens

Woolhouse, Mark; Taylor, Louise H.; Haydon, Daniel T.

doi:10.1126/science.1059026

Cited by 650 publications

(619 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Indeed, mutualistic and pathogenic bacteria use very similar mechanisms in colonizing hosts (Hentschel et al, 2000). Pathogenic microbes spread effectively among socially structured populations (Nunn et al, 2011) and more readily cross host species boundaries when the host species are closely related and inhabit the same geographical region (Woolhouse et al, 2001;Davies and Pedersen, 2008). Geographical vicinity (that is, habitat sharing) gives Figure 4 (a) Unrooted tree displaying the phylogenetic relationship between humans and NHPs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primate vaginal microbiomes exhibit species specificity without universal Lactobacillus dominance

et al. 2014

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Bacterial communities colonizing the reproductive tracts of primates (including humans) impact the health, survival and fitness of the host, and thereby the evolution of the host species. Despite their importance, we currently have a poor understanding of primate microbiomes. The composition and structure of microbial communities vary considerably depending on the host and environmental factors. We conducted comparative analyses of the primate vaginal microbiome using pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA genes of a phylogenetically broad range of primates to test for factors affecting the diversity of primate vaginal ecosystems. The nine primate species included: humans (Homo sapiens), yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus), olive baboons (Papio anubis), lemurs (Propithecus diadema), howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra), red colobus (Piliocolobus rufomitratus), vervets (Chlorocebus aethiops), mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Our results indicated that all primates exhibited host-specific vaginal microbiota and that humans were distinct from other primates in both microbiome composition and diversity. In contrast to the gut microbiome, the vaginal microbiome showed limited congruence with host phylogeny, and neither captivity nor diet elicited substantial effects on the vaginal microbiomes of primates. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance and Wilcoxon tests revealed correlations among vaginal microbiota and host species-specific socioecological factors, particularly related to sexuality, including: female promiscuity, baculum length, gestation time, mating group size and neonatal birth weight. The proportion of unclassified taxa observed in nonhuman primate samples increased with phylogenetic distance from humans, indicative of the existence of previously unrecognized microbial taxa. These findings contribute to our understanding of host-microbe variation and coevolution, microbial biogeography, and disease risk, and have important implications for the use of animal models in studies of human sexual and reproductive diseases.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primate vaginal microbiomes exhibit species specificity without universal Lactobacillus dominance

et al. 2014

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“…Zoonotic pathogens, which are able to overcome the species barrier to infect humans, comprise a majority of the emerging and reemerging microbial challenges that afflict mankind Woolhouse et al 2001). By exploring the mechanistic basis of specialism, one can gain essential insights into the pathogenesis of human-specific infections and anticipate future threats from pathogens waiting to make the species jump.…”

Section: Crossing the Species Barriermentioning

confidence: 99%

Host Specificity of Bacterial Pathogens

Bäumler

Fang

2013

Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine

165

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“…Consequently, the impact of multiple host backgrounds on parasite transmission and virulence will be key to gaining a true understanding of host-parasite evolution. Unlike the situation of multi-parasitized hosts, a number of attempts have been made at developing a theoretical background for studying multi-host parasites (Regoes et al 2000;Woolhouse et al 2001;Gandon 2004). The key factors in these models are the trade-off between virulence in different host species, host quality (as measured by abundance, parasite prevalence and ultimately parasite reproduction) and patterns of transmission (intra-versus interspecific).…”

Section: Host Assemblages: From Theory To Incomplete Empirical Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parasite and host assemblages: embracing the reality will improve our knowledge of parasite transmission and virulence

2010

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Interactions involving several parasite species (multi-parasitized hosts) or several host species (multi-host parasites) are the rule in nature. Only a few studies have investigated these realistic, but complex, situations from an evolutionary perspective. Consequently, their impact on the evolution of parasite virulence and transmission remains poorly understood. The mechanisms by which multiple infections may influence virulence and transmission include the dynamics of intrahost competition, mediation by the host immune system and an increase in parasite genetic recombination. Theoretical investigations have yet to be conducted to determine which of these mechanisms are likely to be key factors in the evolution of virulence and transmission. In contrast, the relationship between multi-host parasites and parasite virulence and transmission has seen some theoretical investigation. The key factors in these models are the trade-off between virulence across different host species, variation in host species quality and patterns of transmission. The empirical studies on multi-host parasites suggest that interspecies transmission plays a central role in the evolution of virulence, but as yet no complete picture of the phenomena involved is available. Ultimately, determining how complex host-parasite interactions impact the evolution of host-parasite relationships will require the development of cross-disciplinary studies linking the ecology of quantitative networks with the evolution of virulence.

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Population Biology of Multihost Pathogens

Cited by 650 publications

References 43 publications

Primate vaginal microbiomes exhibit species specificity without universal Lactobacillus dominance

Primate vaginal microbiomes exhibit species specificity without universal Lactobacillus dominance

Host Specificity of Bacterial Pathogens

Parasite and host assemblages: embracing the reality will improve our knowledge of parasite transmission and virulence

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