title: Multi-taxa integrated landscape genetics for zoonotic infectious diseases: deciphering variables influencing disease emergence.
abstract: Zoonotic disease transmission systems involve sets of species interacting with each other and their environment. This complexity impedes development of disease monitoring and control programs that require reliable identification of spatial and biotic variables and mechanisms facilitating disease emergence. To overcome this difficulty, we propose a framework that simultaneously examines all species involved in disease emergence by integrating concepts and methods from population genetics, landscape ecology, and spatial statistics. Multi-taxa integrated landscape genetics (MTILG) can reveal how interspecific interactions and landscape variables influence disease emergence patterns. We test the potential of our MTILG-based framework by modelling the emergence of a disease system across multiple species dispersal, interspecific interaction, and landscape scenarios. Our simulations showed that both interspecific-dependent dispersal patterns and landscape characteristics significantly influenced disease spread. Using our framework, we were able to detect statistically similar inter-population genetic differences and highly correlated spatial genetic patterns that imply species-dependent dispersal. Additionally, species that were assigned coupled-dispersal patterns were affected to the same degree by similar landscape variables. This study underlines the importance of an integrated approach to investigating emergence of disease systems. MTILG is a robust approach for such studies and can identify potential avenues for targeted disease management strategies.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biology, McGill University, Stewart Biology Building, 1205 Docteur Penfield Ave., Montreal, QC H3A 1B1, Canada.|b Redpath Museum, McGill University, 859 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC H3A 0C4, Canada.
authors.forename: Sarah S T
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Leo
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biology, McGill University, Stewart Biology Building, 1205 Docteur Penfield Ave., Montreal, QC H3A 1B1, Canada.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.affiliation: b Redpath Museum, McGill University, 859 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC H3A 0C4, Canada.
authors.forename: Virginie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Millien
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000635:transmission; D004463:Ecology; D004777:Environment; D051456:Gene Flow; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population / Q000379:methods*; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D008957:Models, Genetic; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000635:transmission
keywords: disease ecology; génétique quantitative; interactions entre espèces; quantitative genetics; species interactions; écologie des maladies