title: Tuberculosis, genetic diversity and fitness in the red deer, Cervus elaphus.
abstract: Understanding how genetic diversity, infections and fitness interact in wild populations is a major challenge in ecology and management. These interactions were addressed through heterozygosity-fitness correlation analyses, by assessing the genetic diversity, tuberculosis (TB) and body size in adult red deer. Heterozygosity-fitness correlation models provided a better understanding of the link between genetic diversity and TB at individual and population levels. A single local effect was found for Ceh45 locus at individual level, enhancing the importance of its close functional genes in determining TB presence. At population level, the ability of the red deer to control TB progression correlated positively with population genetic diversity, indicating that inbred populations might represent more risk of deer TB severity. Statistical models also gained insights into the dynamics of multi-host interaction in natural environments. TB prevalence in neighbouring wild boar populations was positively associated with deer TB at both individual and population levels. Additionally, TB presence correlated positively with red deer body size, for which "general and local effect" hypotheses were found. Although body size might be correlated with age, an indirect genetic effect on TB presence could be implied. This study provides new insights towards understanding host-pathogen interactions in wild populations and their relation to fitness traits.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigacão em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos (CIBIO)/InBio Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, R. Monte-Crasto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal; Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto (FCUP), Rua do Campo Alegre s⁄n, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal; SaBio Research Group, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain. Electronic address: JoaoLuis.Teixeira@uclm.es.
authors.forename: João
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Queirós
authors.affiliation: SaBio Research Group, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain.
authors.forename: Joaquín
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vicente
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigacão em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos (CIBIO)/InBio Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, R. Monte-Crasto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal; Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto (FCUP), Rua do Campo Alegre s⁄n, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal; Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA.
authors.forename: Paulo C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: SaBio Research Group, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain; Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de la Fuente
authors.affiliation: SaBio Research Group, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gortazar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D003670:Deer / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology; D060467:Disease Resistance / Q000235:genetics*; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005260:Female; D056084:Genetic Fitness; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006579:Heterozygote; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D007178:Inbreeding; D008297:Male; D008957:Models, Genetic; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000382:microbiology; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Chronic infectious disease; Heterozygosity-fitness correlation; Inbreeding; Microsatellites; Multi-host interaction; Mycobacterium bovis