Archie Elizabeth A, Luikart Gordon, Ezenwa Vanessa O
Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA.
Trends Ecol Evol. 2009 Jan;24(1):21-30. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2008.08.008. Epub 2008 Nov 21.
Disease ecologists strive to understand the causes and consequences of parasite infection, including the emergence, spread, persistence and evolution of infectious disease. These processes can be illuminated by parasite genetic markers, which can be used to track parasite spread and infer population history. Recently, a growing number of studies have used molecular tools to examine questions on the ecology of infectious diseases. We review this burgeoning area of research by focusing on three topics where genetic tools will increasingly make major contributions: inferring parasite transmission, reconstructing epidemiological history and identifying physical and environmental drivers of disease spread. We also discuss areas for future research and highlight the promise of multidisciplinary collaborations among geneticists, ecologists and epidemiologists.
疾病生态学家致力于了解寄生虫感染的原因和后果，包括传染病的出现、传播、持续存在和演变。这些过程可以通过寄生虫遗传标记来阐明，这些标记可用于追踪寄生虫传播并推断种群历史。最近，越来越多的研究使用分子工具来研究传染病生态学问题。我们通过关注遗传工具将越来越做出重大贡献的三个主题来回顾这一新兴研究领域：推断寄生虫传播、重建流行病学历史以及识别疾病传播的物理和环境驱动因素。我们还讨论了未来的研究领域，并强调了遗传学家、生态学家和流行病学家之间多学科合作的前景。
