DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Analysis of host adaptive genetic variation and its role in anthrax dynamics

炭疽（炭疽芽孢杆菌）是一种高度传染性疾病，威胁人类健康、农业生产和生物多样性。它发生在野生和家养有蹄类食草动物中，也发生在食肉动物和人类中。基因研究表明炭疽起源于撒哈拉以南非洲，然后在全球传播。今天，在世界范围内，人类、牲畜和野生动物中炭疽疫情的数量和严重程度都有所增加。然而，人们对炭疽在不同种群和物种中发生的模式知之甚少。宿主对细菌感染的反应能力取决于内在的遗传因素。遗传多样性在功能基因中可能特别重要，例如那些涉及一般免疫反应或炭疽特异性的基因。本研究的目的是调查宿主基因的变异如何与非洲野生动物物种内部和跨物种的炭疽易感性相关。这组科学家将评估来自纳米比亚Etosha National Parka对易感宿主物种的抗性谱的遗传数据，特别是主要组织相容性复合体的多样性和在炭疽进展中起关键作用的炭疽毒素受体基因的多样性。这项研究的更广泛影响涉及这样一个事实，即管理炭疽是全球优先事项，这项工作的结果可以大大改善纳米比亚和世界其他地区的地方控制工作。此外，这项工作将有助于开发炭疽动态的综合预测模型，该模型可用于评估与疫苗接种、禁闭或扑杀宿主有关的管理工作，以及建立纳米比亚机构的研究能力。

Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) is a highly infectious disease that threatens human health, agricultural production, and biodiversity. It occurs in episodic outbreaks in wild and domestic hoofed herbivores, and also in carnivores and humans. Genetic studies suggest anthrax originated in sub-Saharan Africa and then spread globally. Today, the number and severity of anthrax outbreaks in human, livestock, and wildlife populations have increased worldwide. Still, little is known about what drives the observed patterns of anthrax occurrence across populations and species. A host's ability to respond to bacterial infection depends on inherent genetic factors. Genetic diversity may be particularly important in functional genes, such as those involved in general immune response or specific to anthrax. The goal of this research is to investigate how variation in host genes is related to anthrax susceptibility within and across African wildlife species. The researchers will assess genetic data from a spectrum of resistant to susceptible host species in Etosha National Parka, Namibia, particularly the diversity in the Major Histocompatibility Complex and of an anthrax toxin receptor gene that plays a critical role in anthrax progression. The broader impacts of this research relate to the fact that managing anthrax is a global priority and the results of this work could greatly improve local control efforts in Namibia and other regions of the world. Further, the work will contribute to the development of a comprehensive predictive model of anthrax dynamics that can be used to evaluate management efforts related to vaccination, confinement, or culling of hosts, as well as build the research capacity of Namibian institutions.