Immunome Research
Open Access

Formerly Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy

Publications

• Review Article   
  Outer- to Inner-body Shifts in the Virus-Host Relationship for the Three main Animal Host Domains of the World Today; Wildlife, Humans, and Livestock
  Author(s): Jan Slingenbergh*
  
  In wildlife, the natural reservoir host for most animal viruses, overt clinical infections are generally absent. In this paper it is hypothesized that for hundreds of millions of years viruses co-evolved with arthropods, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, in a friendly manner, by minimizing virus replication costs and host damage. This virus-host mutualism hypothesis may be viewed as diametrically opposite to the virulence-transmission hypothesis. Building on previous work, the transmission ecologies of 36 of the world main livestock viruses are examined in more detail. Viruses and organ systems are aligned on ecological grounds, in an outer- to inner-body fashion. The virus-host interplay changes from acute to persistent infection to ever more virus-host intimacy. From outer- to inner-body virus-host mutualism is on the increase. Virus-host antagonism increases from in.. View More»
  

  Abstract PDF