Academic Journal
Integrating infection intensity and aggregation into the dynamics of pathogens with within-host replication.
| Τίτλος: | Integrating infection intensity and aggregation into the dynamics of pathogens with within-host replication. |
|---|---|
| Συγγραφείς: | Sun R; Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA., Walsman JC; Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA., Wilber M; School of Natural Resources, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA., Briggs CJ; Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA. |
| Πηγή: | The Journal of animal ecology [J Anim Ecol] 2026 Sep; Vol. 95 (9), pp. 1686-1698. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 May 22. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Blackwell Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 0376574 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1365-2656 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00218790 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Anim Ecol Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Oxford : Blackwell Original Publication: Oxford, British Ecological Society. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Batrachochytrium*/physiology , Mycoses*/veterinary , Mycoses*/microbiology , Chytridiomycota*/physiology , Host-Pathogen Interactions*, Animals ; Models, Biological ; Virulence |
| Περίληψη: | Disease outcomes depend heavily on infection intensity which is often heterogeneous across and within host populations. Most individuals carry low pathogen loads and a few carry high loads, a pattern known as aggregation. Although well characterized in macroparasite systems, aggregation and infection intensity are rarely incorporated into microparasite models. This raises key questions: Do similar mechanisms underlie aggregation in macro- and microparasite systems? Moreover, how do aggregation and load-dependent effects shape outcomes such as host suppression and virulence-transmission trade-offs? To address these questions, we developed a series of differential equation models that allow the pathogen load distribution across hosts to evolve dynamically, shaped by both within- and between-host processes. We applied this framework to the amphibian chytrid fungus system caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a fungal pathogen threatening amphibian populations worldwide. Our results show that both stronger load-dependent mortality and faster within-host replication reduce aggregation. Aggregation, in turn, weakens host suppression and flattens virulence-transmission trade-off, shifting peak transmission to higher replication rates. Overall, our models show that similar mechanisms of infection intensity and aggregation influence host-pathogen dynamics in microparasites as in macroparasites. This work offers a framework for advancing theoretical and data-driven understanding of how within-host processes scale to population-level disease dynamics, advocating for a unified approach to disease modelling that bridges the macro- and microparasites. (© 2026 The Author(s). Journal of Animal Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.) |
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| Grant Information: | Climate Action 2023 Seed Award R02CP7252 University of California; 7001607 USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hatch Project; DBI-2120084 National Science Foundation; RC24-4111 Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: chytrid fungus; host–pathogen interactions; infection intensity; load‐dependent mortality; microparasite; pathogen aggregation; pathogen load; virulence–transmission trade‐off |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260523 Date Completed: 20260902 Latest Revision: 20260904 |
| Update Code: | 20260904 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13536198 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/1365-2656.70272 |
| PMID: | 42174760 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
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