Does pathogen plasticity facilitate host shifts?

Pathogen evolution under host avoidance plasticity.

Host resistance consists of defences that limit pathogen burden, and can be classified as either adaptations targeting recovery from infection or those focused upon infection avoidance. Conventional theory treats avoidance as a fixed strategy which does not vary from one interaction to the next. However, there is increasing empirical evidence that many avoidance strategies are triggered by exte...

Does host contact structure reduce pathogen diversity?

We investigate the dynamics of a simple epidemiological model for the invasion by a pathogen strain of a population where another strain circulates. We assume that reinfection by the same strain is possible but occurs at a reduced rate due to acquired immunity. The rate of reinfection by a distinct strain is also reduced due to cross-immunity. Individual based simulations of this model on a ‘sm...

Population Structure Large Shifts in Pathogen Virulence Relate to Host

The evolutionary consequences of plasticity in host-pathogen interactions.

Interactions between individuals such as hosts and pathogens are often characterized by substantial phenotypic plasticity. Pathogens sometimes alter their exploitation strategies in response to defensive strategies adopted by their host and vice versa. Nevertheless, most game-theoretic models developed to explain the evolution of pathogen and host characteristics assume that no such plasticity ...

Does behavioural flexibility facilitate host switching by parasites?

1. Baldwin (1896) suggested that behavioural flexibility could allow organisms to persist in novel environments, thus buying time for the evolution of genetic adaptations to the new environment. This has proven true for free-living organisms invading novel habitats. Behavioural flexibility could also allow parasites to exploit novel hosts, but this hypothesis has not been tested, despite the fa...