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Understanding the processes whereby diversity arises and is maintained in pathogen populations is pivotal for designing disease control interventions. A particular problem is the maintenance of strain structure in bacterial pathogen populations despite frequent genetic exchange. Although several theoretical frameworks have been put forward to explain this widespread phenomenon, few have focused on the role of genes encoding metabolic functions, despite an increasing recognition of their importance in pathogenesis and transmission. In this article, we review the literature for evidence of metabolic niches within the host and discuss theoretical frameworks which examine ecological interactions between metabolic genes. We contend that metabolic competition is an important phenomenon which contributes to the maintenance of population structure and diversity of many bacterial pathogens.

Original publication

DOI

10.2217/fmb-2016-0079

Type

Journal article

Journal

Future Microbiol

Publication Date

10/2016

Volume

11

Pages

1339 - 1357

Keywords

bacterial pathogens, competition, mathematical models, metabolism, vaccination, Alleles, Antigens, Bacterial, Bacteria, Biodiversity, Biological Evolution, Ecology, Genes, Bacterial, Genetic Variation, Host-Parasite Interactions, Humans, Metabolic Networks and Pathways, Models, Theoretical, Multilocus Sequence Typing, Vaccination