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

具有多重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。本研究将探讨寄主群落多样性对两种植物病原传播的影响，一种是通过昆虫媒介传播，另一种是通过植物接触直接传播。野外实验将用于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设。该项目扩展了先前的研究，以检查两种多面手病毒在不同植物群落中的传播。通过使用易于操作和控制的模型系统来调查病原体与多个宿主的疾病动力学，本研究将测试流行病学理论的许多预测，这些预测无法在动物或人类系统中轻易解决。这项工作也直接应用于农业生产，在农业生产中，许多具有重要经济意义的植物病原体有多个宿主，包括野生和作物物种。该模型系统中的病毒是农艺学上重要的病原体。关于野草作为作物重要病毒宿主的潜力的信息将对疾病控制计划有直接的效用。了解疾病传播的动态和社区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。本研究将为本科生、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.