TransWNV · A transcriptomic approach to understand the avian genetic susceptibility to West Nile Virus infection
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2018-10-15 → 2021-02-15
- EU contribution
- €170,122
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-CAR
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
A transcriptomic approach to understand the avian genetic susceptibility to West Nile Virus infection
The rate of newly emerging infectious diseases has increased in recent years and poses one of the major global health challenges. Many of the pathogens causing this increase are wildlife pathogens and it has been estimated that around 80% of emerging infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic with a wildlife reservoir. One of the best examples illustrating this situation is the outbreaks caused by flaviviruses, which include among others the West Nile Virus (WNV). This virus is widely distributed throughout the world and has a considerable impact both on public and animal health. Since its discovery in 1937, WNV has propagated to a vast region of the globe leading to its current consideration as the most widespread mosquito-borne flavivirus and the most important causative agent of viral encephalitis worldwide. Only in Europe, from 2011 to 2019, 3549 human cases of WNV have been detected, with a peak of cases in 2018. The geographical distribution of WNV has also changed recently. Currently, it is expanding North with new cases described in Germany and the Netherlands and there has been an outbreak in Spain in 2020. WNV is maintained in nature in a natural cycle involving mosquitos that are the transmission vector and mostly feed on birds. When infected mosquitos bite humans they can get infected with WNV and get sick, but humans do not transmit the virus. The main challenge when studying WNV is that the virus has a very complex eco-epidemiology. It can infect multiple vertebrate host species and use multiple mosquito species as vectors. Regarding birds, it has been estimated that the virus can infect over 300 species only in North America. However, there is a wide range of variation in the susceptibility both within and across different bird species. As a consequence, the role each species plays in viral transmission, amplification, spillover to humans, and outbreaks varies greatly. To develop effective intervention strategies, it is critical to understand the underlying mechanisms and factors that influence the variation in disease susceptibility to WNV across species. To fully understand why some hosts are affected by a pathogen while others are able to resist infections it is fundamental to understand the genetic basis of the immune response. The overarching goal of this project was to characterize how different bird species respond to WNV infections by looking at gene expression. This allowed us to gain insights into the avian immune response to the virus and uncover the genetic basis of susceptibility to WNV infection.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Emerging infectious diseases that have a wildlife reservoir pose a major challenge to global health. This is the case for West Nile Virus (WNV), which is the number one causative agent of viral encephalitis worldwide. Although it infects humans, the main hosts of WNV are birds. Thus, to develop effective intervention strategies it is critical to understand the disease dynamics in birds. In WNV, disease dynamics are influenced by variation in disease susceptibility across individuals and species, but the factors underlying this variation are poorly understood. Here, I propose to focus on one of these factors: the genetic basis of the immune response. Specifically, I will characterize the transcriptional response to WNV infection and identify candidate genes and pathways that will allow us to gain insights into the avian immune response to the virus and uncover the genetic basis of susceptibility both at the species and individual level. To achieve this goal, I will first analyze the transcriptional response in individuals of house sparrow that die and individuals that survive a WNV infection and test for differential expression. Second, I will characterize the transcriptional profile of house sparrows inoculated with 4 different strains of WNV. Finally, I will examine transcriptional profiles and test for differential expression in 3 species (house sparrow, Eurasian collared dove and common quail) with different susceptibility to WNV. To complete this work I will use state-of –the-art genomics, bioinformatics and statistical analyses and will integrate knowledge from genomics, disease ecology and immunology. Obtaining a Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellowship to carry out this project under the supervision of Prof. J Figuerola (Doñana Biological Station) will be a unique opportunity to resume my scientific career. This project will also contribute to one of the key research areas in the European Union and will yield new insight into the mechanisms relevant to host health.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS · MadridCoordinatorSpain
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union