Ecology and evolution of multiple transmission modes: anther-smut disease

这项研究将审查流行病学的影响和多种疾病传播方式的演变。使用模拟和理论分析，一般战略模型描述空间扩展的人群中的媒介和空气传播将与适用于花药黑穗病，在自然人群中的疾病生态学研究的模型系统的模型同时开发。适应动力学理论将用于研究传播模式如何响应不同的生活史和流行病学特征而演变。为了将这一理论应用于现实世界的系统，本研究将测量自然界中空气和媒介传播的贡献，研究宿主种群中传播模式的遗传变异和协变，并寻找自然种群中传播模式的信号，其中有长期存在的密度和疾病流行率数据。该疾病系统在生态学和遗传学上具有很好的特征，并且是一个高度易处理的模型系统，允许对自然人群中的传播模式进行大规模和定向的实验研究。一个关键的进步是制定的传输函数，考虑到主机的空间分布，包括一个感知内核的概念，研究矢量传输。此外，这项工作通过研究传播模式本身的进化而不是传播模式对其他宿主和病原体特征（如毒力）的进化后果来开辟新天地。本研究强调，传播模式的演变是一个共同进化的过程，涉及宿主和病原体的性状，以及生物和非生物环境背景的相互作用。

This research will examine the epidemiological implications and evolution of multiple modes of disease transmission. Using simulation and theoretical analysis, general strategic models describing vector and aerial transmission in spatially extended populations will be developed concurrently with models applicable to anther-smut disease, a model system for studies of disease ecology in natural populations. Adaptive dynamics theory will be used to investigate how transmission mode evolves in response to different life history and epidemiological features. To apply that theory to a real-world system, this research will measure contributions of aerial and vector transmission in nature, study genetic variation and covariation in transmission mode in host populations, and look for the signals of transmission mode in natural populations where there is long-standing data on density and disease prevalence. This disease system is well characterized ecologically and genetically, and is a highly tractable model system allowing large and directed experimental studies of transmission modes in natural populations. A key advance is the formulation of transmission functions to take into account host spatial distributions, including the concept of a perception kernel to study vector transmission. Furthermore, the work breaks new ground by investigating the evolution of transmission mode itself, rather than the evolutionary consequences of transmission mode for other host and pathogen traits such as virulence. This study emphasizes that the evolution of transmission mode is a co-evolutionary process involving the interplay of both host and pathogen traits, as well as the biotic and abiotic environmental context.