Genetic Assignment Methods for Gaining Insight into the Management of Infectious Disease by Understanding Pathogen, Vector, and Host Movement

PLoS Pathogens

Justin V. Remais¹  Adam Akullian²  Dongchuan Qiu³  Ning Xiao³  David Blair⁴ 

[1] Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America;Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America;Institute of Parasitic Disease, Sichuan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China;School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

关键词: Population genetics;    Pathogens;    Animal migration;    Disease vectors;    Coccidioides;    Dogs;    Fleas;    Infectious diseases;   

DOI  :  10.1371/journal.ppat.1002013

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Public Library of Science

【 摘 要 】

For many pathogens with environmental stages, or those carried by vectors or intermediate hosts, disease transmission is strongly influenced by pathogen, host, and vector movements across complex landscapes, and thus quantitative measures of movement rate and direction can reveal new opportunities for disease management and intervention. Genetic assignment methods are a set of powerful statistical approaches useful for establishing population membership of individuals. Recent theoretical improvements allow these techniques to be used to cost-effectively estimate the magnitude and direction of key movements in infectious disease systems, revealing important ecological and environmental features that facilitate or limit transmission. Here, we review the theory, statistical framework, and molecular markers that underlie assignment methods, and we critically examine recent applications of assignment tests in infectious disease epidemiology. Research directions that capitalize on use of the techniques are discussed, focusing on key parameters needing study for improved understanding of patterns of disease.

【 授权许可】

CC BY