Journal article
Using genetic relatedness to understand heterogeneous distributions of urban rat-associated pathogens
Evolutionary applications, v 14(1), pp 198-209
Jan 2021
PMID: 33519965
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Urban Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) carry several pathogens transmissible to people. However, pathogen prevalence can vary across fine spatial scales (i.e., by city block). Using a population genomics approach, we sought to describe rat movement patterns across an urban landscape and to evaluate whether these patterns align with pathogen distributions. We genotyped 605 rats from a single neighborhood in Vancouver, Canada, and used 1,495 genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms to identify parent-offspring and sibling relationships using pedigree analysis. We resolved 1,246 pairs of relatives, of which only 1% of pairs were captured in different city blocks. Relatives were primarily caught within 33 meters of each other leading to a highly leptokurtic distribution of dispersal distances. Using binomial generalized linear mixed models, we evaluated whether family relationships influenced rat pathogen status with the bacterial pathogensLeptospira interrogans,Bartonella tribocorum, andClostridium difficile, and found that an individual's pathogen status was not predicted any better by including disease status of related rats. The spatial clustering of related rats and their pathogens lends support to the hypothesis that spatially restricted movement promotes the heterogeneous patterns of pathogen prevalence evidenced in this population. Our findings also highlight the utility of evolutionary tools to understand movement and rat-associated health risks in urban landscapes.
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Details
- Title
- Using genetic relatedness to understand heterogeneous distributions of urban rat-associated pathogens
- Creators
- Kaylee A. Byers - University of British ColumbiaTom R. Booker - University of British ColumbiaMatthew Combs - Columbia UniversityChelsea G. Himsworth - University of British ColumbiaJason Munshi-South - Fordham UniversityDavid M. Patrick - University of British ColumbiaMichael C. Whitlock - University of British Columbia
- Publication Details
- Evolutionary applications, v 14(1), pp 198-209
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Number of pages
- 12
- Grant note
- DEB 1457523 / National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF) CGV-104833; MOP-119530 / Canadian Institutes of Health Research; Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) RGPIN-2015-05058; RGPIN-2016-03779 / Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); CGIAR
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES)
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000551193100001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85088396030
- Other Identifier
- 991021904308604721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Evolutionary Biology