Social epidemiology: using genomics to investigate a key fungal disease in bumblebees

疾病在人类、家养动植物和野生动物中的传播是对健康和生态系统服务的主要威胁。然而，疾病是如何在人类和蜜蜂等复杂的社会有机体中传播的--它们的流行病学--却鲜为人知。确定疾病如何在社交网络中传播是理解和控制它们的关键。大黄蜂和它们的寄生虫提供了一个模型系统，可以在其中发展对这种流行病学的理解。此外，大黄蜂是关键的传粉者，在全球范围内正在减少，而这些下降的一个原因是寄生虫及其引起的疾病。因此，了解疾病在熊蜂体内的传播也具有重要的应用保护价值。本项目将以对熊蜂种群有重大影响的大黄蜂及其寄生虫Vairimora ombi为研究对象，探讨景观特征对寄生虫流行病学的影响。重要的是，它将结合经验实验、基因组学和建模工作来了解寄生虫的动态。实证研究的范围将从对照实验室实验，到制定寄生虫DNA提取和测序的方案，再到在野外种群中观察寄生虫的动态。基因组学工作将涉及对Bombi Vairimora基因组的从头测序和组装，以及从不同景观捕获的样本的比较生物信息学。该项目的结果将提供对社会网络如何影响疾病流行的详细洞察，特别是如何在大黄蜂身上发生这些影响。除了它的科学影响，它还将在英国和全球范围内为传粉者的政策和管理提供信息。

Disease spread - in humans, domesticated animals and plants, and wildlife - is a major threat to health and ecosystem services. However, how diseases spread - their epidemiology - in complex social organisms, like humans and bees, is poorly understood. Determining how diseases spread in social networks is key to understanding and controlling them. Bumblebees and their parasites provide a model system in which to develop an understanding of such epidemiology. In addition, bumblebees are key pollinators that are undergoing decline across the globe, and one reason for these declines is parasites and the diseases they cause. Consequently, understanding disease spread in bumblebees also has significant applied conservation value.This project will use the bumblebee Bombus terrestris and its parasite Vairimorpha bombi which has a significant impact on bumblebee colonies, to ask how landscape features affect parasite epidemiology. Importantly, it will combine both empirical experiments, genomics, and modelling work to understand parasite dynamics. Empirical research will range from controlled laboratory experiments, through developing protocols for extraction and sequencing of parasite DNA, to observations in wild field populations of parasite dynamics. Genomics work will involve de novo sequencing and assembly of the Vairimorpha bombi genome and comparative bioinformatics from samples caught across different landscapes.The results of the project will provide a detailed insight into how social networks impact disease epidemics, and specifically how these occur in bumblebees. In addition to its scientific impact, it will feed into policy and management of pollinators in the UK, and globally.