The impact of host genetic diversity on virus evolution and emergence

Abstract

Accumulating evidence indicates that biodiversity has an important impact on parasite evolution and emergence. The vast majority of studies in this area have only considered the diversity of species within an environment as an overall measure of biodiversity, overlooking the role of genetic diversity within a particular host species. Although theoretical models propose that host genetic diversity in part shapes that of the infecting parasite population, and hence modulates the risk of parasite emergence, this effect has seldom been tested empirically. Using Rabies virus (RABV) as a model parasite, we provide evidence that greater host genetic diversity increases both parasite genetic diversity and the likelihood of a host being a donor in RABV cross-species transmission events. We conclude that host genetic diversity may be an important determinant of parasite evolution and emergence.

Population genetics of fruit bat reservoir informs the dynamics, distribution and diversity of Nipah virus

“…The structure and connectivity of wildlife host populations may influence zoonotic disease dynamics, evolution and spillover risk to people (Biek & Real, ; Cross, Lloyd‐Smith, Johnson, & Getz, ). A better understanding of host population genetic structure will therefore likely improve models of viral circulation dynamics (Goldsmith et al, ; Gryseels et al, ; Guivier et al, ; Rodríguez‐Nevado, Lam, Holmes, & Pagán, ; Streicker et al, ; Wilder, Kunz, & Sorenson, ), but see Fountain‐Jones et al () and Lee et al (). Evolutionary dynamics may also be important in zoonotic emergence, and structuring of host populations has been shown to influence the evolution of pathogen virulence and infectivity (Boots, Hudson, & Sasaki, ; Boots & Mealor, ).…”

“…OLIVAL et AL. (Goldsmith et al, 2016;Gryseels et al, 2017;Guivier et al, 2011;Rodríguez-Nevado, Lam, Holmes, & Pagán, 2018;Streicker et al, 2016;Wilder, Kunz, & Sorenson, 2015), but see Fountain- Jones et al (2017) and Lee et al (2012). Evolutionary dynamics may also be important in zoonotic emergence, and structuring of host populations has been shown to influence the evolution of pathogen virulence and infectivity (Boots, Hudson, & Sasaki, 2004;Boots & Mealor, 2007).…”

Comprehensive Analysis of Codon Usage on Rabies Virus and Other Lyssaviruses

“…Other factors include dinucleotide abundance, tRNA abundance, GC content, gene function, gene length, RNA structure, replication, and external environment, among others [20,21,22,23]. In terms of virus infection, the codon usage pattern of the respective host might affect virus survival, adaptation, evolution, and control of the host immune system, given that the virus relies on host cell machinery [24]. Thus, the study of codon usage patterns can provide more detailed information regarding virus evolution and a more detailed understanding of the pathogenesis, which can aid the development of drug targets for more effective vaccines and reinforce control measures to prevent the spread of this severe zoonosis.…”

Ecological determinants of Potyvirus emergence in wild ecosystems

“…For instance, host genetic diversity or vector population dynamics has been also reported as important determinants of virus disease risk and population genetic diversity in wild ecosystems (Pagán et al, 2012;Rodelo-Urrego et al, 2015;Rodríguez-Nevado et al, 2018). Unfortunately, the lack of information on the genomic sequence of most potyvirus hosts identified in this thesis prevented including this variable in our analyses.…”

“…which is often associated with an increase in the plant population genetic diversity (Frankham, 1996;Leimu et al, 2006). Higher host genetic diversity has been reported to positively correlate with pathogen population genetic diversity in wild ecosystems (Rodríguez-Nevado et al, 2018), which would explain the role of host relative abundance in the potyvirus genetic diversity. In addition, a possible explanation for the positive association between rainfalls and biomass with potyvirus population genetic diversity might be that these ecological and climatic variables indirectly affect potyvirus genetic diversity, perhaps by influencing the viral vector population.…”