Diseases are often viewed from an epidemiological perspective in which interactions between pathogens and hosts are modeled as static. However, closely related pathogens often show striking differences in virulence and transmission between host species. There is a critical need to better understand disease transmission across species, particularly as recent infections (e.g., avian influenza, H1N1), have directly affected human populations. The main goal of this project is to identify factors driving the evolution of contrasting disease strategies among closely related pathogens, and to describe how the dynamics and establishment of such strategies vary across their hosts. The project will focus on the role that host life history and population structure can play on the rise and invasion of new virulence strategies that allows a pathogen to make an ecological shift and infect new host species. Smut disease (Microbotryum spp), which infects several plant species of the Portulacaceae (the spring beauty) will be used as the study system.
Results from this project will be broadly relevant to the modeling of disease dynamics in other host-parasite systems, including humans. This project will be conducted at a primarily undergraduate institution and will provide opportunities for students to receive research training in disease evolutionary ecology and epidemiology. A new, senior-level course on the evolutionary biology of disease will be developed, providing the next generation of scientists with important tools and training in disease biology in a multidisciplinary setting.
