Molecular evolution and adaptation of ranavirus

具有广泛宿主范围的传染病的出现可对人口产生巨大影响，并对生物多样性构成威胁。近年来，两栖动物的数量在全球范围内急剧下降；造成这种情况的原因之一是一组属于拉纳病毒属的病原体。ranavirus有能力感染广泛的宿主，包括鱼类、爬行动物和两栖动物，它们正在向以前未被发现的地区扩展，并且具有不同的病毒种类，使它们成为世界动物卫生组织应报告的病原体。随着欧洲出现的谱系，以及最近发现的亚临床感染能力，我们有必要更多地了解这些新出现的病原体。虽然病毒已被确定为全球范围内死亡事件的原因，但由于缺乏病毒特征，对其宿主和地理范围的了解受到阻碍。亚临床感染是指重新评估病毒的流行情况，即传播模式，即每年是否由于长期潜伏感染而再次发生，它们是否导致病毒在全球传播，以及病毒特征，即亚临床感染是否由新的拉纳病毒物种引起？我的博士研究将围绕这些问题，研究英国和动物贸易中的携带者，并以前所未有的规模产生新的基因组数据，这将提供重建物种和地区之间跳跃的进化史所需的缺失缺口。

The emergence of infectious disease with a broad host range can have a vast impact onpopulations and is a threat to biodiversity. In recent years, amphibians have experienced hugedeclines on a global level; one of the reasons for this are a group of pathogens belonging tothe genus Ranavirus. Ranaviruses have the ability to infect a broad host range spanning fish,reptiles and amphibians, they are expanding to regions previously undetected and have adiverse range of viral species making them OIE notifiable pathogens. With lineages emergingacross Europe, and the recent discovery of the capability for subclinical infections, it isimperative that we understand more about these emerging pathogens.Although ranaviruses have been identified as the cause of mortality events across the globe,understanding their host and geographical range is hampered by a lack of viralcharacterisation. Subclinical infections mean a reassessment of ranaviral prevalence, on themodes of transmission i.e. is the re-occurrence of ranaviruses each year due to long-standingcryptic infections, are they responsible for the spread of the virus globally, and viralcharacterisation i.e. are subclinical infections caused by new ranavirus species? Mydoctoral research will centre around these questions looking at carriers, both in the UK and in the animal trade, as well as generate new genomic data, on an unprecedented scale, that will provide the missing gaps needed to reconstruct the evolutionary history of jumps between species and localities.