European mistletoe (Viscum album) as a case study for understanding the regulation of host-parasite relationships

寄生虫生活在宿主机体上或体内，对宿主有害，具有广泛的生态、进化和社会经济后果。要想生存下去，任何寄生虫都必须充分利用宿主的资源才能生存，而不能在成功繁殖和传播之前杀死宿主。换句话说，必须控制对宿主(毒力)和传播的损害，以避免局部寄生虫灭绝。我们仍在揭示宿主-寄生虫系统是如何以这种方式进行调控的，并质疑这种机制如何普遍决定寄生虫和宿主的结果。了解哪些驱动因素向寄生虫或宿主倾斜，是控制寄生虫的关键，而寄生虫对社会来说很重要。考虑到我们面临的持续疾病负担，这种控制与以往一样至关重要。

Parasites, which live on or in a host organism to the host's detriment, have widespread ecological, evolutionary, and socioeconomic consequences. To persist, any parasite must exploit its host's resources enough to live, without killing its host before successful reproduction and transmission. In other words, damage to the host (virulence) and transmission must be moderated to avoid local parasite extinction. We are still uncovering how host-parasite systems are regulated in this way and questioning how universally such mechanisms determine the outcome for parasite and host. Understanding what drivers tip the balance towards parasite or host is key to controlling parasites which are important to society. Such control is as essential as ever given the continued burden of disease we face.