Contrasting geographic patterns of parasite and hantavirus diversity in the rodent Oligoryzomys longicaudatus (Rodentia, Cricetidae)

A1 PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases · 2026-06-26

by Reilly N. Brennan, R. Eduardo Palma, Sally L. Paulson, Wendy C. Hernandez-Mazariegos, Luis E. Escobar Host–parasite interactions arise from a complex interplay of evolutionary history, ecological context, and community structure, yet these dimensions are rarely examined together. Here, we introduce a unified framework that links the macroevolutionary processes shaping host–parasite associations with the microevolutionary dynamics driving intraspecific viral and host diversity. This approach reveals how evolutionary and ecological forces jointly structure parasite and viral diversity across a host’s range. We used the hantavirus host Oligoryzomys longicaudatus in South America as a model system to explore this analytical framework. The objective of this study was to uncover potential factors contributing to parasite and viral diversity in this system in a framework that can be applied to other disease systems. Our data suggest that parasite richness peaks in environmentally optimal, central regions of the host's range, while hantavirus diversity peaks toward environmental and geographic margins. This dynamic connection among host ecology, parasite community turnover, and viral evolution illustrates how geographic and environmental variation influence host-parasite evolution. By bridging micro- and macroevolutionary signals, our analytical framework provides a biologically sound approach for describing host, parasite, and viral diversification in a changing world, and a foundation to explain how diseases emerge across changing landscapes.

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