ArticleTrends in parasitology2013
Killing them softly: managing pathogen polymorphism and virulence in spatially variable environments.
Article in Trends in parasitology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Synthesizing selection mosaic theory and host-pathogen theory to explain large-scale pathogen coexistence.Nature communications · 2025Article
- An epi-evolutionary model for predicting the adaptation of spore-producing pathogens to quantitative resistance in heterogeneous environments.Evolutionary applications · 2022Article
- Hypothesis: Cancer Is a Disease of Evolved Trade-Offs Between Neoplastic Virulence and Transmission.Journal of Cancer · 2018Review
- Genes as Cues of Relatedness and Social Evolution in Heterogeneous Environments.PLoS computational biology · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
Abstract
Understanding why pathogen populations are genetically variable is vital because genetic variation fuels evolution, which often hampers disease control efforts. Here I argue that classical models of evolution in spatially variable environments - specifically, models of hard and soft selection - provide a useful framework to understand the maintenance of pathogen polymorphism and the evolution of virulence. First, the similarities between models of hard and soft selection and pathogen life cycles are described, highlighting how the type and timing of pathogen control measures impose density regulation that may affect both the level of pathogen polymorphism and virulence. The article concludes with an outline of potential lines of future theoretical and experimental work.
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Registered trials
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