Meeting Abstract

S4.2-3  Sunday, Jan. 5 11:30  Genomic Approaches to Understand Host Survival under Seasonally-Modulated Pathogen Dynamics LONGO, A. V.*; BURROWES, P. A.; ZAMUDIO, K. R. ; Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR; Cornell University, Ithaca, NY avl7@cornell.edu

Pathogens act as agents of evolutionary change in host populations, altering host allele frequencies through selection. The mechanisms underlying these adaptive changes depend in which defense strategy the host adopts upon infection. With increased anthropogenic change and biodiversity loss, ecological impacts on adaptive processes may reduce the ability of hosts to evolve resistance, or persist within their tolerance limits, thus increasing the capacity of pathogens to cause disease and mortality. Using the amphibian pathogenic fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) and direct-developing frogs (Eleutherodactylus) as the focal host-pathogen system, we test hypotheses about how host genetics, skin microbiota, and their interaction with environmental conditions modulate disease dynamics by alternating the fitness advantage from host to pathogen, and vice versa.