Evolution of pathogen specialisation in a host metapopulation: joint effects of host and pathogen dispersal.

ABSTRACT: Metapopulation processes are important determinants of epidemiological and evolutionary dynamics in host-pathogen systems, and are therefore central to explaining observed patterns of disease or genetic diversity. In particular, the spatial scale of interactions between pathogens and their hosts is of primary importance because migration rates of one species can affect both spatial and temporal heterogeneity of selection on the other. In this study we developed a stochastic and discrete time simulation model to specifically examine the joint effects of host and pathogen dispersal on the evolution of pathogen specialisation in a spatially explicit metapopulation. We consider a plant-pathogen system in which the host metapopulation is composed of two plant genotypes. The pathogen is disperse

SUBMITTER: Papaix J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4031062 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature