In such hosts virulent strains can encyst, hinting at an explanation for the evolution of virulence polymorphism in T. gondii.
Holden, M.T. et al. Complete genomes of two clinical Staphylococcus aureus strains: evidence for the rapid evolution of virulence and drug resistance.
Queck, S. Y. et al. RNAIII-independent target gene control by the agr quorum-sensing system: insight into the evolution of virulence regulation in Staphylococcus aureus.
Adiba, S., Nizak, C., van Baalen, M., Denamur, E. & Depaulis, F. From grazing resistance to pathogenesis: the coincidental evolution of virulence factors.
Holden, M. T. G. et al. Complete genomes of two clinical Staphylococcus aureus strains: evidence for the rapid evolution of virulence and drug resistance.
The extreme genome variability was confirmed by whole-genome microarray analysis; it may reflect the organism's niche in the gut and should provide information on the evolution of virulence in this organism.
"Give me $100,000 and two months, and I can recreate it right here in my lab," says Earl Brown, a flu researcher who specializes in the evolution of virulence at the University of Ottawa.
More recently, he has collaborated with evolutionary biologists, and his research combines empirical work with evolutionary theory to address issues such as the identification of factors that influence cooperation and the evolution of virulence in microorganisms.
Most mathematical models on the evolution of virulence are based on epidemiological models that assume parasite transmission follows the mass action principle.
Research on the evolution of virulence has shown that many factors other than how parasites are transmitted can affect the evolution of virulence.
Population genomics and the evolution of virulence in the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans.
