Open AccessEco-evolutionary control of pathogens
Author(s) -
Michael Lässig,
Ville Mustonen
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.1920263117
Subject(s) - pathogen , host (biology) , biology , control (management) , computer science , ecology , genetics , artificial intelligence
Significance Vaccinations and therapies targeting evolving pathogens aim to curb the pathogen and to steer it toward a controlled evolutionary state. Control is leveraged against the pathogen’s intrinsic evolutionary forces, which in turn, can drive an escape from control. Here, we analyze a simple model of control, in which a host produces antibodies that bind the pathogen. We show that the leverages of host (or external intervention) and pathogen are often highly imbalanced: an error threshold separates parameter regions of efficient control from regions of compromised control, where the pathogen retains the upper hand. Because control efficiency can be predicted from few measurable fitness parameters, our results establish a proof of principle how control theory can guide interventions against evolving pathogens.