A quantitative genetic theory for infectious diseases
We integrated quantitative genetics and epidemiology to develop a quantitative genetic theory of the prevalence of endemic infectious diseases. Results show that infectious diseases respond very differently to selection than common non-communicable traits, and strongly suggest that the genetic variance determining the potential response of prevalence to selection must be much larger than currently believed. Moreover, heritable variation and response to selection increase significantly when the prevalence of the infection decreases, ultimately leading to local extinction of the infection due to herd immunity. These results change our perspective on the prospects of genetic selection against infectious diseases.
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article in monograph or in proceedings biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wageningen Academic Publishers
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| Subjects: | Life Science, |
| Online Access: | https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/a-quantitative-genetic-theory-for-infectious-diseases |
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