Week 4 Flashcards
What is the strict definition of co-evolution?
The joint evolution of two (or more) ecologically interacting species, each of which evolves in response to selection imposed by the other
What is the loose definition of co-evolution?
The evolution of one species caused by its interaction with another
What is the general definiton of co-evolution?
Each party exerts selective pressure on the other, thereby affecting each others evolution
What is the relationship between hosts and pathogens?
Pathogens want to consume host tissue/energy to covert it into more pathogens
Hosts limit damage by slowing or killing the pathogen
This places a strong selection pressure on both hosts and pathogens
What are the 3 co-evolutionary concepts for parasites and hosts?
1 - Specific host and pathogen co-evolve
2- Several species involved and their efffects are not independant (host many evolve to more than one pathogen)
3- Host species evolves a major new defence against pathogens, escape 1 pathogen and another evolves later
How can host species escape a pathogen?
Evolves a new defence against pathogens
Escapes pathogens and can proliferate and diversify
Later new pathogens adapt to host clade and therefore also diversify
What is used to analyse co-evolution?
Phylogenetic analysis
What are some issues with assessing co-evolution?
Most congruent phylogeny - some mismatches
Host switching
Extinction of Lineages
What is relationship between pigeons, wing and body lice?
Body lice competitively superior to wing lice
More host switching in wing lice
Both transmit vertically - parent to child
Wing lice also has phoretic horizontal transmission
What are examples of specific parasite co-evolutions adaptation?
Parasitic trematode larvae (Leucochloridium) - migrats to the eye stalk of its intermidiate host (land snail)
What are examples of specific host co-evolutions defences?
Wild parsnips (Pastinaca Sativa) produce chemical defence furanocoumarins against insects (webworms)
Vertebrates - Major Histocompatability Complex
What is the costs of furanocoumarin production in wild parsnips?
High energetic cost to produce furanocoumarins
Can be up to 10% energy costs
Parsnips with high furanocoumarins produce less seeds
What are the 3 outcomes of a pathogen and host relationship?
Unending arms race
Extinction of one of the species
Stable genetic equilibrium
What are the 2 complex models of co-evolution?
Attack and defence
Cost and benefits
What are the mechanisms of pathoegn-mediated selection?
Frequency dependance
Heterozygote advantage
Fluctuating selection
What is virulence?
The relarive ability of a pathogen to cause a disease
The host’s loss of fitness due to the pathogen
Virulence depends on host-pathogen co-evolution
What is coincidental evolution?
Accidental virulence with selection of other traits
What is an example of conincidental evolution?
Tetnus (Claustridium tetane)
Chemical secretions - selected for life in soil
Neurotoxin in humans
What is short-sighted evolution?
Generations of evolution within a host before transmission
Trsits for within host firtness evolve
Even if detrimental to transmission to new host
What is an example of short-sighted evolution?
Poliovirus in humans - normally in gut lining
May evolve to exploit nervous system
But will never be transmitted
What is the trade off hypothesis?
Selection favours pathogens that strike the optimal balance between the cost and benefits of harming their hosts - to optimise transmission rates
What factors affect trade off and therefore virulence?
Multiple infections - competition between different strains of pathogens within host
Speed/effectiveness of the host’s immune system
Pathogen transmission
- Form of transmission - horizontal vs vertical
- Means of transmission - vector vs direct contact
As shown in bacteriophages in E.Coli, what is the method for horizontal transmission?
Virus induces cell to produce and secrete new phages- but this slows E.Coli cell growth
As shown in bacteriophages in E.Coli, what is the method for vertical transmission?
E.Coli divides - virus copies in both daughter cells
How can you block different forms of transmission of bacteriophages?
1 - Anti virals to block horizontal
2 - To block vertical transmission move phages to new uninfected E.Coli cultures every generation
What was the experiments done by Messenger in 1999?
Created 2 sets of selection lines of virus (13 in each)
1 set can only vertical transmission virus lines and the other horizontal transmission
What were the predictions for the Messenger experiments based off of trade off hypothesis?
1 - Correlation between phage reproduction rate and virulence - virus lines that reproduce the most - slow host growth most
2 - Mainly vertical transmission lines - evolves lower phage reproduction rates and lower virulence (allow their host to reproduce more)
3 - Mainly horizontal transmission lines - favour viral strains that reproduce quicker - more virulent
What was the result of the Messenger experiments?
The predictions where found to be correct horizontal transmission has high virulence and vertical transmission had low virulence with a positive correlation between virulence and phage reproduction rate
How does transmission form impact virulence?
Vector born pathogens - carried away from severly debilitated host
Pathogens transmitted by direct contact - cannot afford to be too virulent
What happened to the Myxoma virus in the European rabbit (Oryctologus cuniculus) populations in Australia?
Introduced to Australia (1950)
Spread by fleas, mosquitos and man
Causes localised skin tumours
Kills 99.8% rabbits but soon dropped off
Why did the rabbit death percentage drop off?
Myxoma epidemics exerted strong selective pressure for resistance
Rabbits populations that had been exposed to more epidemics had lower mortality
Genetic variation conferring resistance to myxoma before indroduction of virus
What happened to the virulence of the myxoma virus?
Virus strains that didn’t kill hosts were more readily disperse to new hosts - stabilises at an intermediate level
What is the endosymbiotic theory?
A rickettsia species of bacteria has so co-evolved that it only lives in cells
What is the Major Histocompatibility complex?
Set of genes coding for cell surface glycoprotein molecules in all vertebrates