Effects of host-use traits on RNA virus evolvability

宿主使用特征对 RNA 病毒进化能力的影响

• 批准号: 1051093
• 负责人: Paul Turner
• 金额: $ 75万
• 依托单位: Yale University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-01-01 至 2015-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1051093&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Effects; host; use; traits; RNA

Whereas some viruses can easily shift to infect new host populations, other viruses remain confined to their original host. This research examines the environmental factors that cause viruses to be specialists that infect few hosts or generalists that attack a variety of hosts. This goal is accomplished using experimental evolution of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus in laboratory culture. The first major objective is to determine how virus traits evolve when viruses adapt to using single versus multiple hosts, especially whether evolution is constrained such that some traits must be modified by natural selection before others can undergo change. The second major objective is to determine whether specialist and generalist viruses differ in their probability of evolving to emerge on new hosts such as humans, and whether adaptations specifically for surviving outside of hosts alter the likelihood of successfully infecting new hosts. The project results can be applied to several systems because viruses are important disease agents in wild and domesticated populations of animals and plants. The project virus resembles many vector-borne human viruses (such as West Nile Fever Virus); thus, the project should help elucidate environmental factors promoting viral host shifts into human populations. The project will involve the training of undergraduate students and outreach to the New Haven Public Schools with a particular focus on recruiting and mentoring minority students.

尽管某些病毒可以轻松转移以感染新的宿主群体，但其他病毒仍然局限于其原始宿主。这项研究探讨了导致病毒成为感染少数主机的专家或攻击多种主机的通才的环境因素。这一目标是通过实验室培养中水泡性口炎病毒的实验进化来实现的。 第一个主要目标是确定当病毒适应使用单一宿主或多个宿主时，病毒性状如何进化，特别是进化是否受到限制，以致某些性状必须通过自然选择进行修改，然后其他性状才能发生变化。第二个主要目标是确定专科病毒和通用病毒在人类等新宿主上进化出现的概率是否存在差异，以及专门为在宿主外生存而进行的适应是否会改变成功感染新宿主的可能性。该项目的结果可以应用于多个系统，因为病毒是野生和驯化动植物种群中的重要疾病媒介。该项目病毒类似于许多媒介传播的人类病毒（例如西尼罗热病毒）；因此，该项目应有助于阐明促进病毒宿主转移到人群中的环境因素。该项目将涉及本科生的培训以及对纽黑文公立学校的推广，特别注重招募和指导少数族裔学生。