Data from: Population structure of two rabies hosts relative to the known distribution of rabies virus variants in Alaska

For pathogens that infect multiple species the distinction between
reservoir hosts and spillover hosts is often difficult. In Alaska, three
variants of the arctic rabies virus exist with distinct spatial
distributions. We test the hypothesis that rabies virus variant
distribution corresponds to the population structure of the primary rabies
hosts in Alaska, arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) and red foxes (V. vulpes)
in order to possibly distinguish reservoir and spill over hosts. We used
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence and nine microsatellites to assess
population structure in those two species. mtDNA structure did not
correspond to rabies virus variant structure in either species.
Microsatellite analyses gave varying results. Bayesian clustering found 2
groups of arctic foxes in the coastal tundra region, but for red foxes it
identified tundra and boreal types. Spatial Bayesian clustering and
spatial principal components analysis identified 3 and 4 groups of arctic
foxes, respectively, closely matching the distribution of rabies virus
variants in the state. Red foxes, conversely, showed eight clusters
comprising 2 regions (boreal and tundra) with much admixture. These
results run contrary to previous beliefs that arctic fox show no
fine-scale spatial population structure. While we cannot rule out that the
red fox is part of the maintenance host community for rabies in Alaska,
the distribution of virus variants appears to be driven primarily by the
artic fox Therefore we show that host population genetics can be utilized
to distinguish between maintenance and spillover hosts when used in
conjunction with other approaches.