All multicellular organisms host microbial communities in and on their bodies, and these
microbiomes can have major influences on host biology. Most research has focussed on the …

The prevalence and intensity of parasites in wild hosts varies across space and is a key
determinant of infection risk in humans, domestic animals and threatened wildlife. Because …

Although crucial for the understanding of adaptive evolution, genetically resolved examples
of local adaptation are rare. To maximize survival and reproduction in their local …

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is crucial to the adaptive immune response of
vertebrates and is among the most polymorphic gene families known. Its high diversity is …

Research on speciation and adaptive radiation has flourished during the past decades, yet
factors underlying initiation of reproductive isolation often remain unknown. Parasites …

Ecological speciation has been the subject of intense research in evolutionary biology but
the genetic basis of the actual mechanism driving reproductive isolation has rarely been …

Parasitism is a common form of life and represents a strong selective pressure for host
organisms. In response to this evolutionary pressure, vertebrates have developed …

Despite growing evidence for parasite‐mediated selection on the vertebrate major
histocompatibility complex (MHC), little is known about variation in the bacterial parasite …

Red Queen host–parasite co-evolution can drive adaptations of immune genes by positive
selection that erodes genetic variation (Red Queen arms race) or results in a balanced …

Inbreeding can threaten population persistence by reducing disease resistance through the
accelerated loss of gene diversity (ie heterozygosity). Such inbreeding depression can affect …