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Comparative evolutionary biology of RNA viruses

Reference	BBS/E/I/00001713
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Dr Donald King
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Mr Nicholas Knowles
Institution	The Pirbright Institute
Department	The Pirbright Institute Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	727,964
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/2012
End date	31/03/2017
Duration	59 months

Abstract

This core project will develop an improved understanding of the evolutionary biology of RNA viruses including those that cause important trans-boundary animal diseases. These studies will exploit the potential provided by the extensive virus archive maintained by the international Reference Laboratories at Pirbright. The principal focus of this work is the natural history of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), but comparative insights generated from genomic studies of related picornaviruses will also be included. At the finest scales, we will utilise the latest techniques for sequencing viral genomes to characterise viral genetic swarms and define the specific mechanisms that drive viral evolution within and between susceptible hosts. At broadest scales, spatial and temporal analyses will be integrated into on-going cross-sectional and longitudinal field studies in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia to provide valuable insights into the factors that are responsible for the extent of global viral variation that is generated by the circulation of FMDV in endemic regions. These data will define the relative importance of different transmission routes, and support the development of predictive models by providing data on host, viral and environmental factors that influence sequence changes that accrue during virus transmission. A key activity will be to test specific hypotheses relating to factors that influence viral evolution and transmission using controlled experiments in high containment facilities using cell cultures and appropriate experiments in natural animal hosts. These studies will link to related studies in other IAH research groups on transmission biology, immunology, field epidemiology and disease modelling. This capability will be complemented by the strong links with mathematical and evolutionary biologists at Glasgow University, and with bio-informatics expertise that is available at The Genome Analysis Centre at Norwich.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Animal Health, Microbiology
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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