Evolution of acuteness in pathogen metapopulations: conflicts between "classical" and invasion-persistence trade-offs.

ABSTRACT: Classical life-history theory predicts that acute, immunizing pathogens should maximize between-host transmission. When such pathogens induce violent epidemic outbreaks, however, a pathogen's short-term advantage at invasion may come at the expense of its ability to persist in the population over the long term. Here, we seek to understand how the classical and invasion-persistence trade-offs interact to shape pathogen life-history evolution as a function of the size and structure of the host population. We develop an individual-based infection model at three distinct levels of organization: within an individual host, among hosts within a local population, and among local populations within a metapopulation. We find a continuum of evolutionarily stable pathogen strategies. At one end of the

SUBMITTER: Shrestha S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4157682 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature