Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37056166›Full record

ArticleEcology letters2023

Metabolic efficiency reshapes the seminal relationship between pathogen growth rate and virulence.

Richard J Lindsay, Philippa J Holder, Nicholas J Talbot, Ivana Gudelj

Abstract readLetter
In one paragraph

Article in Ecology letters, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Richard J LindsayBiosciences and Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2063-9285
Philippa J HolderBiosciences and Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
Nicholas J TalbotThe Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6434-7757
Ivana GudeljBiosciences and Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3450-6854

Funding

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/T015985/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A cornerstone of classical virulence evolution theories is the assumption that pathogen growth rate is positively correlated with virulence, the amount of damage pathogens inflict on their hosts. Such theories are key for incorporating evolutionary principles into sustainable disease management strategies. Yet, empirical evidence raises doubts over this central assumption underpinning classical theories, thus undermining their generality and predictive power. In this paper, we identify a key component missing from current theories which redefines the growth-virulence relationship in a way that is consistent with data. By modifying the activity of a single metabolic gene, we engineered strains of Magnaporthe oryzae with different nutrient acquisition and growth rates. We conducted in planta infection studies and uncovered an unexpected non-monotonic relationship between growth rate and virulence that is jointly shaped by how growth rate and metabolic efficiency interact. This novel mechanistic framework paves the way for a much-needed new suite of virulence evolution theories.

Indexed as

Biological EvolutionVirulencegrowth ratemetabolic efficiencymicrobial ecologyplant pathogenssynthetic ecologytrade-offsvirulence

Identifiers

PMID37056166
PMCPMC10947253

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.