Data from: Landscape genetics highlights the role of bank vole metapopulation dynamics in the epidemiology of Puumala hantavirus

Rodent host dynamics and dispersal are thought to be critical for hantavirus epidemiology as they determine pathogen persistence and transmission within and between host populations. We used landscape genetics to investigate how the population dynamics of the bank vole Myodes glareolus, the host of Puumala hantavirus (PUUV), vary with forest fragmentation and influence PUUV epidemiology. We sampled vole populations within the Ardennes, a French PUUV endemic area. We inferred demographic features such as population size, isolation and migration with regard to landscape configuration. We next analysed the influence of M. glareolus population dynamics on PUUV spatial distribution. Our results revealed that the global metapopulation dynamics of bank voles were strongly shaped by landscape features, including suitable patch size and connectivity. Large effective size in forest might therefore contribute to the higher observed levels of PUUV prevalence. By contrast, populations from hedge networks highly suffered from genetic drift and appeared strongly isolated from all other populations. This might result in high probabilities of local extinction for both M. glareolus and PUUV. Besides we detected signatures of asymmetric bank vole migration from forests to hedges. These movements were likely to sustain PUUV in fragmented landscapes. In conclusion, our study provided arguments in favour of source-sink dynamics shaping PUUV persistence and spread in heterogeneous, western European temperate landscapes. It illustrated the potential contribution of landscape genetics to the understanding of the epidemiological processes occurring at this local scale.啮齿类宿主的种群动态与扩散模式，被认为对汉坦病毒的流行病学特征具有关键影响——其决定了病原体在宿主种群内部以及种群之间的存续与传播能力。本研究借助景观遗传学（landscape genetics）技术，以普马拉汉坦病毒（Puumala hantavirus，PUUV）的天然宿主斑背䶄（bank vole，*Myodes glareolus*）为研究对象，探究其种群动态如何随森林破碎化程度发生变化，以及该动态对PUUV流行病学的影响。我们在法国普马拉汉坦病毒流行区阿登地区（Ardennes）开展了斑背䶄种群采样工作。基于景观格局特征，我们推断了种群规模、遗传隔离程度以及基因流水平等种群统计学参数。随后，我们进一步分析了斑背䶄种群动态对PUUV空间分布的调控作用。研究结果显示，斑背䶄的全球复合种群（metapopulation）动态，受景观特征（包括适宜生境斑块面积与连通性）的强烈调控。因此，森林生境中较大的有效种群规模，可能与观测到的更高PUUV感染率存在直接关联。与之形成鲜明对比的是，树篱网络中的斑背䶄种群极易受到遗传漂变（genetic drift）的影响，且与其他所有种群之间呈现出极强的遗传隔离状态。这一特征可能导致斑背䶄种群与PUUV均面临较高的局域灭绝风险。此外，我们还检测到斑背䶄存在不对称基因流的信号：其迁移方向多为从森林生境向树篱网络。这类迁移活动可能有助于破碎化景观中的PUUV得以持续存续。综上，本研究的结果支持‘源汇动态（source-sink dynamics）调控了普马拉汉坦病毒在西欧温带异质景观中的存续与传播’这一结论。本研究同时彰显了景观遗传学技术在解析此类局域尺度流行病学过程中的潜在应用价值。