Open AccessProliferation and benevolence—A framework for dissecting the mechanisms of microbial virulence and health promotion
Author(s) -
Wollein Waldetoft Kristofer,
Råberg Lars,
Lood Rolf
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
evolutionary applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 68
ISSN - 1752-4571
DOI - 10.1111/eva.12952
Subject(s) - biology , effector , promotion (chess) , conceptual framework , virulence , mechanism (biology) , host (biology) , resistance (ecology) , ecology , computational biology , genetics , sociology , gene , political science , epistemology , social science , philosophy , politics , law , microbiology and biotechnology
Key topics in the study of host–microbe interactions—such as the prevention of drug resistance and the exploitation of beneficial effects of bacteria—would benefit from concerted efforts with both mechanistic and evolutionary approaches. But due to differences in intellectual traditions, insights gained in one field rarely benefit the other. Here, we develop a conceptual and analytical framework for the integrated study of host–microbe interactions. This framework partitions the health effects of microbes and the effector molecules they produce into components with different evolutionary implications. It thereby facilitates the prediction of evolutionary responses to inhibition and exploitation of specific molecular mechanisms.