The primary case is not enough: Variation among individuals, groups and social networks modify bacterial transmission dynamics.

ABSTRACT: The traits of the primary case of an infectious disease outbreak, and the circumstances for their aetiology, potentially influence the trajectory of transmission dynamics. However, these dynamics likely also depend on the traits of the individuals with whom the primary case interacts. We used the social spider Stegodyphus dumicola to test how the traits of the primary case, group phenotypic composition and group size interact to facilitate the transmission of a GFP-labelled cuticular bacterium. We also compared bacterial transmission across experimentally generated "daisy-chain" vs. "star" networks of social interactions. Finally, we compared social network structure across groups of different sizes. Groups of 10 spiders experienced more bacterial transmission events compared to groups of

SUBMITTER: Keiser CN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5871623 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature