相关论文: Speciation due to hybrid necrosis in plant-pathoge…

When setting up field experiments, to test and compare a range of genotypes (e.g. maize hybrids), it is important to account for any possible field effect that may otherwise bias performance estimates of genotypes. To do so, we propose a…

We introduce a graph generating model aimed at representing the evolution of protein interaction networks. The model is based on the hypotesis of evolution by duplications and divergence of the genes which produce proteins. The obtained…

We demonstrate diversification rather than optimisation for highly interacting organisms in a well mixed biological system by means of a simple model and reference to experiment, and find the cause to be the complex network of interactions…

Immunological self/not-self discrimination is conventionally seen as an extracellular event, involving interactions been receptors on T cells pre-educated to discriminate, and peptides bound to major histocompatibility complex proteins…

Species sharing a prey or a predator species may go extinct due to exploitative or apparent competition. We examine whether evolution of the shared species acts as a coexistence mechanism and to what extent the answer depends on the genetic…

Post-genomic research deals with challenging problems in screening genomes of organisms for particular functions or potential for being the targets of genetic engineering for desirable biological features. 'Phenotyping' of wild type and…

Simple growth mechanisms have been proposed to explain the emergence of seemingly universal network structures. The widely-studied model of preferential attachment assumes that new nodes are more likely to connect to highly connected nodes.…

Cross-protection, which refers to a process whereby artificially inoculating a plant with a mild strain provides protection against a more aggressive isolate of the virus, is known to be an effective tool of disease control in plants. In…

Plants at high population density compete for light, showing a series of physiological responses known as the shade avoidance syndrome. These responses are controlled by the synthesis of the hormone auxin, which is regulated by two signals,…

Mathematical disease modelling has long operated under the assumption that any one infectious disease is caused by one transmissible pathogen spreading among a population. This paradigm has been useful in simplifying the biological reality…

The adaptive immune system relies on diversity of its repertoire of receptors to protect the organism from a great variety of pathogens. Since the initial repertoire is the result of random gene rearrangement, binding of receptors is not…

The inhabitants of the bush lupine in coastal California have been the subject of scientific scrutiny in recent years. Observations of a host-parasitoid interaction in the shrub's foliage, in which victims are significantly less motile than…

We investigate the dynamics of a simple epidemiological model for the invasion by a pathogen strain of a population where another strain circulates. We assume that reinfection by the same strain is possible but occurs at a reduced rate due…

We consider the Derrida-Higgs (DH) statistical model of species formation in the case where the population is geographically distributed in discrete locations, and mating only takes place within one location. Keeping the rate of migration…

I present three models of plant--pathogen interactions. The models are stochastic and spatially explicit at the scale of individual plants. For each model, I use a version of pair approximation or moment closure along with a separation of…

We model the evolution of eukaryotic protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. In our model, PPI networks evolve by two known biological mechanisms: (1) Gene duplication, which is followed by rapid diversification of duplicate…

The adaptive and innate branches of the vertebrate immune system work in close collaboration to protect organisms from harmful pathogens. As an organism ages its immune system undergoes immunosenescence, characterized by declined…

The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is an invasive pest that can cause severe yield loss to soybeans in the northcentral United States. A tactic to counter this pest is the use of aphid-resistant soybean varieties.…

Statistical analysis of protein-protein interactions shows anomalously high frequency of homodimers [Ispolatov, I., et al. (2005) Nucleic Acids Res 33, 3629-35]. Furthermore, recent findings [Wright, C.F., et al. (2005) Nature 438, 878-81]…

Interactions between people are the basis on which the structure of our society arises as a complex system and, at the same time, are the starting point of any physical description of it. In the last few years, much theoretical research has…