Data from: Coinfection with chytrid genotypes drives divergent infection dynamics reflecting regional distribution patterns

By altering the abundance, diversity, and distribution of species — and
their pathogens — globalization may inadvertently select for more virulent
pathogens. In Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, a hotspot of amphibian
biodiversity, the global trade has facilitated the co-occurrence of
previously isolated enzootic and panzootic lineages of the pathogenic
amphibian-chytrid (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, ‘Bd’) and generated new
virulent recombinant genotypes (‘hybrid’). Epidemiological data indicate
that amphibian declines are most severe in hybrid zones, suggesting that
coinfections are causing more severe infections or selecting for higher
virulence. We investigated how coinfections involving these genotypes
shaped virulence and transmission. Overall, coinfection favored the more
virulent and competitively superior panzootic genotype, despite dampening
its transmission potential and overall virulence. However, for the least
virulent and least competitive genotype, coinfection increased both
overall virulence and transmission. Thus, by integrating experimental and
epidemiological data, our results provide a mechanistic insight into how
globalization can select for, and propel, the emergence of introduced
hypervirulent lineages, such as the globally distributed panzootic lineage
of Bd.