DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Characterizing the genetic basis of virus adaptation to genotypes of its' mammalian host

当病原体转移到替代宿主时，其毒力可能在替代宿主中增加，而在原宿主中减弱，这一过程用于制造减毒疫苗。这一普遍发现表明，病原体可以快速适应不同的宿主，并为表征病原体适应性提供了强有力的实验工具。本项目采用序列传代方法探索病原菌适应与宿主遗传多样性之间的关系，增加对自然界毒力进化的潜在遗传原因的理解。了解病原体进化对健康具有广泛的基础和应用相关性，包括家畜、野生动物和人类的生物医学问题，如癌症、自身免疫、新发疾病和疫苗设计。例如，这项研究将量化低遗传多样性的疾病相关风险，这可能导致改进圈养繁殖设计，从而提高濒危物种的生存能力，并提高家畜对病原体的抵抗力。通过这项研究，本科生和研究生将接受以研究为基础的培训，并且CoPI将继续在公立学校进行教育演讲。

When a pathogen is transferred to an alternative host, its virulence may increase in the alternative host, while attenuating in the original host, a process that is used to make attenuated vaccines. This general finding demonstrates that pathogens can quickly adapt to different hosts and provides a powerful experimental tool to characterize pathogen adaptation. This project uses serial passage methodology to explore the relationship between pathogen adaptation and host genetic diversity and increase understanding of the underlying genetic causes of evolution of virulence in nature. Understanding pathogen evolution has broad basic and applied relevance to health, including biomedical problems in domestic animals, wildlife, and people, such as cancer, autoimmunity, emerging disease, and vaccine design. For instance, this research will quantify the disease-associated risks of low genetic diversity, which could lead to improved captive breeding designs that increase the viability of endangered species and to increased pathogen resistance of domestic livestock. Undergraduates and the graduate student CoPI will receive research-based training through this research, and the CoPI will continue educational presentations in public schools.