Understanding virus diversity and host range using Drosophila

Over 200 species of Drosophila can be cultured in the lab, and these provide an unparalleled model system for comparative biology. The best known of these, Drosophila melanogaster, has been an essential genetic model for over a hundred years, forming the basis of six Nobel Prizes. Studies of Drosophila have now made major contributions in behaviour, immunity, development, ageing, and many other fields. Our own work has recently identified and isolated the first DNA viruses known to naturally infect Drosophila melanogaster and its close relatives, and here we plan to combine the experimental power of laboratory Drosophila with the diversity of wild species to better understand the determinants of host range and inter-species transmission.

This project will initially survey metagenomic DNA data from over 10 thousand wild D. melanogaster to expand our knowledge of the Drosophila virome. It will then use a sequencing (amplicon) based approach to characterise the host distribution of these DNA viruses, and their relatives, in the UK Drosophilid community. Finally, it will use experimental studies with multiple Drosophila species in the laboratory to understand the physiological and fitness consequences of infection.

The details of the study can be tailored to suit the applicant, and it could take either a more bioinformatic or a more experimental approach. Full training will be provided, and there will be ample opportunity to gain skills in any (or all) of: viral discovery, bioinformatics, infection and survival studies, Drosophila physiology, and microscopy.