DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The Effects of Sex-Differential Parasitism on Disease Dynamicsin a Plant-Fungal System

论文研究：性别差异寄生对植物真菌系统疾病动态的影响

• 批准号: 0608447
• 负责人: Janis Antonovics
• 金额: $ 1.1万
• 依托单位: University of Virginia Main Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-08-15 至 2008-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0608447&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Effects; Sex; Differential

Sex differences in infection rates are widespread in natural populations of organisms ranging from plants and invertebrates to amphibians, birds, and mammals. Sex differences are also characteristic of many human diseases, such as HIV. This study will develop a mathematical model to investigate the effects of sex-specific differences in transmission on disease dynamics. Experimental populations of Silene latifolia infected with the pollinator-transmitted fungal pathogen Microbotryum violaceum will be established to estimate the within- and between-sex disease transmission, as well as sex-specific differences in recovery, disease-induced sterility, and mortality. To complement the experimental work, natural populations will be marked to estimate transmission, recovery, and survival rates. Studying disease dynamics in two-sex systems is fundamental for guiding disease control strategies in species of agricultural, medical, and conservation concern. This work will contribute to understanding the spread and maintenance of disease in natural populations. This issue is important because disease drives ecological abundance, and natural populations may act as reservoirs for diseases that are important in agriculture and for human health. These serious concerns make understanding disease dynamics in natural systems imperative.

感染率的性别差异在从植物和无脊椎动物到两栖动物、鸟类和哺乳动物的自然生物种群中普遍存在。性别差异也是许多人类疾病的特征，例如艾滋病毒。 这项研究将开发一个数学模型来研究传播中性别特异性差异对疾病动态的影响。 将建立感染传粉昆虫病原体 Microbotryum violaceum 的 Silene latifolia 实验群体，以估计性别内和性别间疾病传播，以及恢复、疾病引起的不育和死亡率方面的性别特异性差异。为了补充实验工作，将对自然群体进行标记，以估计传播率、恢复率和存活率。研究两性系统中的疾病动态对于指导农业、医学和保护物种的疾病控制策略至关重要。这项工作将有助于了解疾病在自然人群中的传播和维持。 这个问题很重要，因为疾病会导致生态丰富，而自然种群可能成为对农业和人类健康很重要的疾病的储存库。这些严重的问题使得了解自然系统中的疾病动态势在必行。