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

社会流行病学：利用基因组学研究熊蜂的一种关键真菌病

• 批准号: 2289216
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Royal Holloway University of London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2289216
• 关键词: Social; epidemiology; using; genomics; investigate

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.

疾病传播--在人类、家养动物和植物以及野生动物中--是对健康和生态系统服务的主要威胁。然而，人们对疾病如何在复杂的社会有机体（如人类和蜜蜂）中传播（即它们的流行病学）知之甚少。确定疾病如何在社交网络中传播是理解和控制疾病的关键。大黄蜂和它们的寄生虫提供了一个模型系统，在其中发展这种流行病学的理解。此外，大黄蜂是关键的授粉者，在地球仪上正在下降，这些下降的原因之一是寄生虫和它们引起的疾病。因此，了解熊蜂的疾病传播也具有重要的应用保护价值。本项目将使用熊蜂熊蜂及其寄生虫对熊蜂群体有重要影响的Vairimorpha bombi，探讨景观特征如何影响寄生虫流行病学。重要的是，它将结合联合收割机经验实验，基因组学和建模工作，以了解寄生虫的动态。经验研究的范围将从受控的实验室实验，通过开发协议的提取和测序的寄生虫DNA，在野外种群的寄生虫动态观察。基因组学工作将包括对大黄蜂基因组进行重新测序和组装，以及从不同景观中采集的样本进行比较生物信息学研究。该项目的结果将详细了解社交网络如何影响疾病流行，特别是这些疾病如何在大黄蜂中发生。除了其科学影响外，它还将为英国和全球的传粉者政策和管理提供信息。