The evolutionary and mechanistic basis of virus host shifts: A Staphylococcaceae-phage system to investigate patterns of virus infectivity and evoluti

Lead Research Organisation: UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Department Name: Biosciences

Abstract

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Publications

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Studentship Projects

Project Reference Relationship Related To Start End Student Name
BB/M009122/1 30/09/2015 31/03/2024
2237316 Studentship BB/M009122/1 30/09/2019 31/12/2023 Sarah Walsh
BB/T008741/1 30/09/2020 29/09/2028
2237316 Studentship BB/T008741/1 30/09/2019 31/12/2023 Sarah Walsh
 
Description This work has allowed us to show that the genetic relationship between host species (how similar they are) is responsible for a large proportion of the difference in their susceptibility to infection (how well a virus is able to grow in them). We have shown this in a system where we have 64 Staphylococcus hosts, and the pathogen is a bacteriophage called ISP.
Exploitation Route This work has so far developed a model system to investigate virus-host interactions in a multi-host system, allowing us to investigate some of the underlying factors that influence virus-host interactions such as host relatedness. This model system can be used to investigate many aspects of virus-host interactions in the future, such as the influence of local adaptation of a pathogen to a host on its ability to infect subsequent hosts, the role of generalism or specialism on susceptibility, and the underlying molecular mechanisms that contribute to these patterns of susceptibility.
Sectors Other