COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Host Community Diversity, Species Composition, and the Spread of Generalist Plant Pathogens

具有多宿主的病原体对人类健康、家畜生产和具有保护意义的野生动物越来越重要。这项拟议的研究将探索寄主群落的多样性对两种通用植物病原体传播的影响，一种通过昆虫媒介传播，另一种通过植物接触直接传播。现场实验将被用来检验关于物种相互作用和群落结构如何影响病原体流行的假说。该项目扩展了先前的研究，以检查两种多面性病毒在不同植物群落中的传播。通过使用易于操纵和控制的模型系统来研究具有多个宿主的病原体的疾病动力学，这项研究将检验流行病学理论中的一些预测，这些预测不容易用动物或人类系统来解决。这项工作还直接应用于农业生产，在农业生产中，许多经济上重要的植物病原体具有包括野生和作物物种在内的多个寄主。这个模式系统中的病毒是农学上重要的病原体。有关野草作为农作物重要的病毒储存库的信息将对疾病控制计划有直接的帮助。了解疾病传播的动态和群落多样性对疾病流行的影响将有助于设计新的、更可持续的疾病管理方法，这些方法可能适用于农业、动物和人类宿主。这项研究将为本科生、研究生和博士后提供培训机会，包括来自生态学、植物病理学、自然资源和农业科学的未被充分代表的少数民族学生。

Pathogens with multiple hosts are of increasing importance for human health, domestic animal production, and wild animals of conservation significance. The proposed research will explore the influence of the diversity of host communities on the spread of two generalist plant pathogens, one transmitted by insect vectors and one directly transmitted by plant contact. Field experiments will be used to test hypotheses about how species interactions and community structure influence pathogen prevalence. This project extends previous research to examine the spread of two generalist viruses in diverse plant communities. By using an easily manipulated and controlled model system to investigate disease dynamics of pathogens with multiple hosts, this research will test a number of predictions from epidemiological theory that cannot be readily addressed with animal or human systems. This work also has direct application in agricultural production, where a number of economically important plant pathogens have multiple hosts that include both wild and crop species. The viruses in this model system are agronomically important pathogens. Information on the potential of wild grasses to serve as important reservoirs of virus for crops will be of direct utility to disease control programs. Understanding the dynamics of disease spread and the effects of community diversity on disease prevalence will aid in designing new, more sustainable approaches to disease management that may be applicable to agricultural, animal, and human hosts. This research will provide training opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students, including underrepresented minority students, from ecology, plant pathology, natural resources, and agricultural science.