Virulence and community dynamics of fungal species with vertical and horizontal transmission on a plant with multiple infections.

ABSTRACT: The virulence evolution of multiple infections of parasites from the same species has been modeled widely in evolution theory. However, experimental studies on this topic remain scarce, particularly regarding multiple infections by different parasite species. Here, we characterized the virulence and community dynamics of fungal pathogens on the invasive plant Ageratina adenophora to verify the predictions made by the model. We observed that A. adenophora was highly susceptible to diverse foliar pathogens with mixed vertical and horizontal transmission within leaf spots. The transmission mode mainly determined the pathogen community structure at the leaf spot level. Over time, the pathogen community within a leaf spot showed decreased Shannon diversity; moreover, the vertically transmitted

SUBMITTER: Fang K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8315517 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature