Two keys to developing control and prevention strategies for many of the most damaging infectious diseases threatening human health, agriculture, and wildlife conservation are determining and predicting the distribution of pathogens. Predicting the way infectious diseases will affect populations is greatly helped by understanding the contributions of both genetic and environmental factors to disease distribution. The investigators will test the relative importance of these factors in nature by using the anther-smut disease of alpine plants as a natural model system. This pathogen is found only at high altitudes across Europe, despite the abundance of hosts at lower elevations. Field transplants combined with experimental introduction of the disease will be used to test differences in its spread at low and high elevations, and to understand the factors responsible for its restriction to high elevations. The researchers will be able to test theories of disease spread and distribution with virtually no risk to commerce, agriculture, or human health. The results will yield key insights into how host-pathogen interactions affect natural populations, and will help to inform predictions concerning the spread of existing and emerging infectious diseases. Furthermore, the study will influence interpretations of changes in elevational distribution of alpine species, which are very sensitive indicators of global climate change.
This project provides opportunities for undergraduate students to gain research experience and academic training. The research will allow expansion of several ongoing collaborations, particularly with scientists abroad. In addition, because these experiments are located within a highly-visited public botanic garden they will continue to contribute to raising public awareness about disease biology.
