Allocation to sexual versus nonsexual disease transmission

Many diseases have both sexual and nonsexual transmission routes, and closely related diseases often differ in their degree of sexual transmission. We investigate the evolution of transmission mode as a function of host social and mating structure using a model in which disease transmission is explicitly dependent on the numbers of sexual and nonsexual contacts (which are themselves a function of population density) and per-contact infection probabilities. Most generally, and in the absence of trade-offs between the degree of sexual transmission and effects on host fecundity and mortality, nonsexual transmission is favored above the social-sexual crossover point (the host density at which the number of nonsexual contacts exceeds the number of sexual contacts), while sexual transmission is favored below this point. When changes in allocation to the two transmission modes are accompanied by changes in mortality or fecundity, both mixed and pure transmission strategies can be favored. If invading genotypes differ substantially from resident genotypes, genetic polymorphism in transmission mode is possible. The evolutionary outcomes are predictable from a knowledge of the equilibrium population sizes in relation to the social-sexual crossover point. Our results also show that predictions about dynamic outcomes, based on rates of invasion for single pathogens into healthy populations, do not adequately describe the resulting disease prevalence nor predict the subsequent evolutionary dynamics; once invasion of a pathogen has occurred, the conditions for spread of a second pathogen are themselves altered. If the host is considered as a single resource, our results show that two pathogens may coexist on a single resource if they use that resource differentially and have differential feedbacks on resource abundance; such resource feedback effects may be present in other biological systems.     

Interactions entre L’infection a VIH,le SIDA et les autres MST

Human immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is mainly transmitted by sexual intercourses. History of STD’s and serological markers of STD’s are frequently encountered in HIV-infected patients. This is partly due to a common mode of transmission. However, it has been clearly demonstrated that ulcerative and non ulcerative STD’s are able to favour the sexual transmission of HIV. In addition, the HIV epidemic has a profound impact on clinical presentation of STD’s and justify specific therapeutical attitudes.     

Rhabdoviruses in two species of Drosophila: vertical transmission and a recent sweep

Insects are host to a diverse range of vertically transmitted micro-organisms, but while their bacterial symbionts are well-studied, little is known about their vertically transmitted viruses. We have found that two sigma viruses (Rhabdoviridae) recently discovered in Drosophila affinis and Drosophila obscura are both vertically transmitted. As is the case for the sigma virus of Drosophila melanogaster, we find that both males and females can transmit these viruses to their offspring. Males transmit lower viral titers through sperm than females transmit through eggs, and a lower proportion of their offspring become infected. In natural populations of D. obscura in the United Kingdom, we found that 39% of flies were infected and that the viral population shows clear evidence of a recent expansion, with extremely low genetic diversity and a large excess of rare polymorphisms. Using sequence data we estimate that the virus has swept across the United Kingdom within the past ～11 years, during which time the viral population size doubled approximately every 9 months. Using simulations based on our lab estimates of transmission rates, we show that the biparental mode of transmission allows the virus to invade and rapidly spread through populations at rates consistent with those measured in the field. Therefore, as predicted by our simulations, the virus has undergone an extremely rapid and recent increase in population size. In light of this and earlier studies of a related virus in D. melanogaster, we conclude that vertically transmitted rhabdoviruses may be common in insects and that these host-parasite interactions can be highly dynamic.     

The evolution of virulence in pathogens with frequency-dependent transmission

Frequency-dependent transmission is an important feature of diseases that are sexually transmitted or transmitted by a vector that actively searches for hosts. Here I describe the evolution of virulence in pathogens that have frequency-dependent transmission. I consider two components of virulence--an increase in host mortality due to infection, as is classically described, and a decrease in host fecundity due to infection, because frequency dependence is common among diseases that fully or partially sterilize their hosts. Theoretical predictions pertaining to host-pathogen numerical dynamics can be quite different between pathogens with frequency-dependent transmission and those with density-dependent transmission. In contrast, this study suggests that the principles governing the evolution of virulence that have been established in the context of density-dependent pathogens may also apply (qualitatively) to frequency-dependent pathogens. I examine the evolutionary trajectories of the mortality and sterility components of virulence as well as the role of spatial population structure in the evolution of the sterility component of virulence.     

Sexually transmitted diseases in polygynous mating systems: prevalence and impact on reproductive success

Studies of disease in relation to animal mating systems have focused on sexual selection and the evolution of sexual reproduction. Relatively little work has examined other aspects of ecological and evolutionary relationships between host social and sexual behaviour, and dynamics and prevalence of infectious diseases; this is particularly evident with respect to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Here, we use a simulation approach to investigate rates of STD spread in host mating systems ranging from permanent monogamy to serial polygyny or polyandry and complete promiscuity. The model assumes that one sex (female) is differentially attracted to the other, such that groups of varying size are formed within which mating and disease transmission occur. The results show that equilibrium disease levels are generally higher in females than males and are a function of variance in male mating success and the likelihood of a female switching groups between mating seasons. Moreover, initial rates of disease spread (determining whether an STD establishes in a population) depend on patterns of host movement between groups, variance in male mating success and host life history (e.g. mortality rates). Male reproductive success can be reduced substantially by a sterilizing STD and this reduction is greater in males that are more 'attractive' to females. In contrast, females that associate with more attractive males have lower absolute fitness than females associating with less attractive males. Thus, the potential for STDs to act as a constraint on directional selection processes leading to polygyny (or polyandry) is likely to depend on the details of mate choice and group dynamics.     

Opa-typing: a high-resolution tool for studying the epidemiology of gonorrhoea

A single gonococcus possesses a family of 11 distinct and highly variable opa genes. The extensive variation and rapid evolution of the opa gene repertoire has been exploited to provide a high-resolution typing method for studies of the short-term transmission of gonorrhoea. The 11 opa genes are amplified with a single pair of primers by the polymerase chain reaction, digested with frequently-cutting restriction enzymes, and the fragments are fractionated on polyacrylamide to provide an opa-type. The method appeared to be highly discriminatory as the opa-types of gonococci, isolated world-wide over the last 30 years, were all different. Opa-typing discriminated between isolates of the same auxotype/serovar class. Similarly, there were 41 opa-types among 43 consecutive isolates from a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic. The two pairs of isolates from this clinic that gave the same opa-types were identical by other criteria and may have been from unsuspected sexual contacts. With one minor exception, identical opa-types were obtained from gonococci recovered from known sexual contacts. These results suggest that variation in the family of 11 opa genes evolves so rapidly that the opa-types of gonococci are distinguishable, unless the isolates are from sexual contacts or a short chain of disease transmission. The identification of gonococci with identical opa-types is therefore believed to be a good indicator that the individuals from which they were recovered were sexual partners, or part of a short chain of disease transmission.     

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE AND PARASITE-MEDIATED SEXUAL SELECTION

Few studies have investigated the consequences of parasite-mediated sexual selection on the parasites involved. In some cases parasite-mediated sexual selection could lead to increased virulence, but I develop a simple model that shows that, if a parasite is sexually transmitted (i.e., is a sexually transmitted disease, or STD) and if mating success of the host is adversely affected by the parasite, then less virulent STDs will be selected for because transmission of the STD depends on the mating success of the host. This selection for reduced virulence could have important consequences for the role of STDs in sexual selection.     

The role of nongovernmental organizations in the response to the AIDS epidemic

The main trends in the activities of the Public Movement "Faith, Hope, Love", organized by an initiative group of specialists in public health, law, public order maintenance, as well as volunteers, in June 1996 are presented. The main aspects of the activities of this non-governmental organization are the prevention of AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STD) among vulnerable groups of the population (female sex workers, injecting drug users, street children, representatives of sexual minorities); educational activities on the problems of the prevention of drug addiction and AIDS/STD among adolescents and young people; rendering psychological assistance to the vulnerable groups of the population; practical assistance to street children. Approaches and methods used in the work on AIDS/STD prevention among vulnerable groups of the population are as follows: active involvement of the representatives of vulnerable groups in preventive work, the creation of the possibility of contacts with specialists for representatives of vulnerable groups by opening confidence rooms, mutual assistance centers, provision with individual preventive remedies, active involvement of representatives of government structures in the realization of the projects carried out by the Movement, etc.     

Sexually transmitted disease and the evolution of mating systems

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have been shown to increase the costs of multiple mating and therefore favor relatively monogamous mating strategies. We examine another way in which STDs can influence mating systems in species in which female choice is important. Because more popular males are more likely to become infected, STDs can counteract any selective pressure that generates strong mating skews. We build two models to investigate female mate choice when the sexual behavior of females determines the prevalence of infection in the population. The first model has no explicit social structure. The second model considers the spatial distribution of matings under social monogamy, when females mated to unattractive males seek extrapair fertilizations from attractive males. In both cases, the STD has the potential to drastically reduce the mating skew. However, this reduction does not always happen. If the per contact transmission probability is low, the disease dies out and is of no consequence. In contrast, if the transmission probability is very high, males are likely to be infected regardless of their attractiveness, and mating with the most attractive males imposes again no extra cost for the female. We also show that optimal female responses to the risk of STDs can buffer the prevalence of infection to remain constant, or even decrease, with increasing per contact transmission probabilities. In all cases considered, the feedback between mate choice strategies and STD prevalence creates frequency-dependent fitness benefits for the two alternative female phenotypes considered (choosy vs. randomly mating females or faithful vs. unfaithful females). This maintains mixed evolutionarily stable strategies or polymorphisms in female behavior. In this way, a sexually transmitted disease can stabilize the populationwide proportion of females that mate with the most attractive males or that seek extrapair copulations.     

Why is sterility virulence most common in sexually transmitted infections? Examining the role of epidemiology

Sterility virulence, or the reduction in host fecundity due to infection, occurs in many host–pathogen systems. Notably, sterility virulence is more common for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than for directly transmitted pathogens, while other forms of virulence tend to be limited in STIs. This has led to the suggestion that sterility virulence may have an adaptive explanation. By focusing upon finite population models, we show that the observed patterns of sterility virulence can be explained by consideration of the epidemiological differences between STIs and directly transmitted pathogens. In particular, when pathogen transmission is predominantly density invariant (as for STIs), and mortality is density dependent, sterility virulence can be favored by demographic stochasticity, whereas if pathogen transmission is predominantly density dependent, as is common for most directly transmitted pathogens, sterility virulence is disfavored. We show these conclusions can hold even if there is a weak selective advantage to sterilizing.     

Verbal Intercourse and Sexual Communication: Impediments to STD Prevention

This article explores the problems of risky sexual behavior by examining the ways people verbally negotiate sexual interaction regarding sexually transmitted diseases. Based on in-depth interviews with 124 adults (ages 21–63) who are infected with genital herpes, the article shows that knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases is not necessarily related to the action needed for their prevention. People are more afraid of being rejected by a partner than they are of contracting an STD (except, of course, AIDS). By examining difficulties people have with sexual health discourse and showing how these difficulties are related to both the problem of communicating politeness and the problem of representing the self and the sexual other, this article demonstrates that STD prevention programs overlook a very important emotional and communicative issue: the lack of a culturally sanctioned language with which to discuss sexual health with partners, [genital herpes, STD prevention, STD communication, sexually transmitted diseases, STD risk]     

Presumptive horizontal symbiont transmission in the fungus-growing termite Macrotermes natalensis

All colonies of the fungus-growing termite Macrotermes natalensis studied so far are associated with a single genetically variable lineage of Termitomyces symbionts. Such limited genetic variation of symbionts and the absence of sexual fruiting bodies (mushrooms) on M. natalensis mounds would be compatible with clonal vertical transmission, as is known to occur in Macrotermes bellicosus. We investigated this hypothesis by analysing DNA sequence polymorphisms as codominant SNP markers of four single-copy gene fragments of Termitomyces isolates from 31 colonies of M. natalensis. A signature of free recombination was found, indicative of frequent sexual horizontal transmission. First, all 31 strains had unique multilocus genotypes. Second, SNP markers (n = 55) were largely in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (90.9%) and almost all possible pairs of SNPs between genetically unlinked loci were in linkage equilibrium (96.7%). Finally, extensive intragenic recombination was found, especially in the EF1alpha fragment. Substantial genetic variation and a freely recombining population structure can only be explained by frequent horizontal and sexual transmission of Termitomyces. The apparent variation in symbiont transmission mode among Macrotermes species implies that vertical symbiont transmission can evolve rapidly. The unexpected finding of horizontal transmission makes the apparent absence of Termitomyces mushrooms on M. natalensis mounds puzzling. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed study of the genetic population structure of a single lineage of Termitomyces.     

Condition dependence and trade-offs of sexual versus non-sexual traits in an insect

Sexual traits often communicate male condition and so are known to be highly condition-dependent. Thus, it is expected that, under restricted environments, sexual traits will be more heavily impacted than non-sexual traits, and so a negative covariation will be expected between sexual traits and non-sexual traits as only high-quality males will sustain the costs of producing both trait types. Such covariation will not necessarily appear in non-restricted environments. We tested these predictions using males of the American rubyspot, Hetaerina americana. First, fully mature males from different seasons were collected and their sexual [a wing red spot and body size (this corrected for body mass using residuals)], and condition-indicating, non-sexual (phenoloxidase and protein concentration) traits were measured. Second, larvae were reared under different food quantities and the same traits plus another non-sexual trait [pro-phenoloxidase (proPO)], were measured in recently emerged males. Contrary to expected, non-sexual traits showed larger expression variance than sexual traits. We found a significant covariation between body size and proPO for experimental males. Both rich and poor diet groups showed a negative slope for body size and proPO. This supposes a resource allocation trade-off between these two traits for recently emerged animals. On the other hand, the presumed signaling function between sexual traits, such as spot size, and physiological indicators of condition in this species, is not supported.     

Host-parasite population dynamics under combined frequency- and density-dependent transmission

Many host‐parasite models assume that transmission increases linearly with host population density (‘density‐dependent transmission’), but various alternative transmission functions have been proposed in an effort to capture the complexity of real biological systems. The most common alternative (usually applied to sexually transmitted parasites) assumes instead that the rate at which hosts contact one another is independent of population density, leading to ‘frequency‐dependent’ transmission. This straight‐forward distinction generates fundamentally different dynamics (e.g. deterministic, parasite‐driven extinction with frequency‐ but not density‐dependence). Here, we consider the situation where transmission occurs through two different types of contact, one of which is density‐dependent (e.g. social contacts), the other density‐independent (e.g. sexual contacts). Drawing on a range of biological examples, we propose that this type of contact structure may be widespread in natural populations. When our model is characterized mainly by density‐dependent transmission, we find that allowing even small amounts of transmission to occur through density‐independent contacts leads to the possibility of deterministic, parasite‐driven extinction (and lowers the threshold for parasite persistence). Contrastingly, allowing some density‐dependent transmission to occur in a model characterized mainly by density‐independent contacts (i.e. by frequency‐dependent transmission) does not affect the extinction threshold, but does increase the likelihood of parasite persistence. The idea that directly transmitted parasites exploit different types of host contact is not new, but here we show that the impact on dynamics can be fundamental even in the simplest cases. For example, in systems where density‐dependent transmission is normally assumed de facto, we show that parasite‐driven extinction can occur if a small amount of transmission occurs through density‐independent contacts. Many empirical studies are still guided by the traditional density/frequency dichotomy, but our combined transmission function may provide a better model for systems in which both types of transmission occur.     

The role of sexually abstained groups in two-sex demographic and epidemic logistic models with non-linear mortality

We describe several gender structured population models governed by logistic growth with non-linear death rate. We extend these models to include groups of people isolated from sexual activity and individuals exposed to a mild and long-lasting sexually transmitted disease, i.e. without disease-induced mortality and recovery. The transmission of the disease is modeled through formation/separation of heterosexual couples assuming that one infected individual automatically infects his/her partner. We are interested in how the non-reproductive class may change the demographic tendencies in the general population and whether they can curb the growth of the infected group while keeping the healthy one at acceptable levels. A comparison of the equilibrium total population size in the presence and the absence of the isolated class is also provided.     

Mathematical model for Zika virus dynamics with sexual transmission route

Zika virus is a flavivirus transmitted to humans primarily through the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes. In addition to vector-borne spread, however, the virus can also be transmitted through sexual contact. In this paper, we formulate and analyze a new system of ordinary differential equations which incorporates both vector and sexual transmission routes. Theoretical analysis of this model when there is no disease induced mortality shows that the disease-free equilibrium is locally and globally asymptotically stable whenever the associated reproduction number is less than unity and unstable otherwise. However, when we extend this same model to include Zika induced mortality, which have been documented in Latin America, we find that the model exhibits a backward bifurcation. Specifically, a stable disease-free equilibrium co-exists with a stable endemic equilibrium when the associated reproduction number is less than unity. To further explore model predictions, we use numerical simulations to assess the importance of sexual transmission to disease dynamics. This analysis shows that risky behavior involving multiple sexual partners, particularly among male populations, substantially increases the number of infected individuals in the population, contributing significantly to the disease burden in the community.     

Polygyny can increase rather than decrease genetic diversity contributed by males relative to females: evidence from red deer

Polygyny is expected to erode genetic variability by reducing the diversity of genetic contribution of males to the next generation, although empirical evidence shows that genetic variability in polygynous populations is not lost as rapidly as expected. We used microsatellite markers to study the genetic variability transmitted by mothers and fathers to offspring during a reproductive season in wild populations of a polygynous mammal, the red deer. Contrary to expectations, we found that males contributed more genetic diversity than females. Also, we compared study populations with different degrees of polygyny to find that polygyny was not related to a decrease in genetic diversity contributed by males. On the contrary, when population genetic diversity was relatively low, polygyny associated with higher genetic diversity of paternal lineage. Our results show that sexual selection, by favouring heterozygote individuals, may compensate the potential reduction of effective population size caused by polygyny, thus contributing to explain why genetic diversity is not depleted in polygynous systems.     

Modeling AIDS as a function of other sexually transmitted disease.

The spread of AIDS, as with any sexually transmitted disease, will depend on the pattern of sexual activity. Both the proportion of the population who have high partner exchange rates and the extent to which that proportion interacts with the remainder of the population are likely to be important determinants of the AIDS epidemic. However, it does not seem likely that surveys could obtain sufficiently reliable information of this nature for use in an accurate model of the AIDS epidemic. On the other hand, such information is implicitly contained in the epidemiology of other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Therefore a method is suggested of calculating the parameters of a model of the AIDS epidemic by comparing it with the epidemiology of another STD. The result is a model that predicts the likelihood of infection by the AIDS virus as a function of time and an individual's history of STD. It is suggested that further work along these lines may lead to a quantitative approach to assessing the importance of various STDs as cofactors in the spread of AIDS.     

Sexually transmitted infections in polygamous mating systems

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are often associated with chronic diseases and can have severe impacts on host reproductive success. For airborne or socially transmitted pathogens, patterns of contact by which the infection spreads tend to be dispersed and each contact may be of very short duration. By contrast, the transmission pathways for STIs are usually characterized by repeated contacts with a small subset of the population. Here we review how heterogeneity in sexual contact patterns can influence epidemiological dynamics, and present a simple model of polygyny/polyandry to illustrate the impact of biased mating systems on disease incidence and pathogen virulence.     

WAITING FOR SPECIATION: THE EFFECT OF POPULATION SUBDIVISION ON THE TIME TO SPECIATION

We study the time required for speciation in a species that is divided into small versus large populations. Following Dobzhansky and Muller, we assume that hybrid sterility or inviability is caused by “complementary genes,” that is, by the accumulation of genes that cause sterility or inviability when brought together in hybrids but that have no deleterious effect on their normal species genetic background. When divergence between populations is caused by genetic drift, we show that the time to speciation is independent of population subdivision: speciation occurs just as quickly in a species split into a few large populations as into many small populations. When divergence is driven by natural selection, however, the time to speciation is very sensitive to population subdivision and speciation occurs most rapidly when a species is split into two large populations. These results contradict several popular intuitions about the effect of population size on speciation.