Bats: epidemiological surveillance, high-resolution phylodynamics, search and design of peptides of biotechnological interest in emergent and reemerging viruses

• Grant number: 19/01255-9
• Support type: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• Duration: May 01, 2021 - April 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal researcher: Ricardo Durães de Carvalho
• Grantee: Ricardo Durães de Carvalho
• Home Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 22/08748-3 - Investigation of emerging and reemerging viruses in bat specimens captured in different regions of the State of São Paulo, BP.TT; 21/03684-4 - Bats: epidemiological surveillance, high-resolution phylodynamics, search and design of peptides of biotechnological interest in emergent and reemerging viruses, BP.JP

Abstract

RNA viruses are important agents involved in emerging and reemerging zoonoses, representing an important public health concern. This scenario has been constantly monitored through the discovery of new pathogens, in which it comes into line and international interest to identify new agents in order to respond to new diseases before they reach the human population. In this context, bats, with a viroma still to be intensively explored, are increasingly receiving notorious attention for harbor several viral pathogens of medical importance (eg Nipah, Ebola, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and now SARS- CoV-2 [COVID-19] pandemic). On the other hand, arboviruses, also detected in bats, stand out. Namely, Chikungunya (CHIKV), Dengue 1-4 (DENVs), Mayaro (MAYV), Oropouche (OROV), Yellow Fever (YFV) and Zika (ZIKV), are responsible for more than 95% of infection cases in the whole Brazilian territory. Noteworthy, researches shows that commercially available diagnostic kits for the detection of CHIKV, DENV and ZIKV have serious limitations and the issue is aggravated when it comes to reemerging agents: MAYV, OROV and YFV. The present proposal will focus on investigating the presence of RNA viruses in bats and on approaches involving metagenomics and New Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies aiming to identify new virus of zoonotic importance as well as new arboviral agents. In parallel, a pioneering approach will be implemented through the State-of-the-art phylodynamics using High Performance Computing (HPC), thus providing strategies for the development of platforms and workflows for the mapping and validation of target-specific peptides for diagnostic and therapeutics purposes. (AU)

Scientific publications

(4)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

GARCIA, AMANDA BARBOSA; DE MORAES, ANA PAULA; RODRIGUES, DANIELE MASSELLI; GILIOLI, ROVILSON; DE OLIVEIRA-FILHO, EDMILSON FERREIRA; DURAES-CARVALHO, RICARDO; ARNS, CLARICE WEIS. Coding-Complete Genome Sequence of Murine Hepatitis Virus Strain 3 from Brazil. MICROBIOLOGY RESOURCE ANNOUNCEMENTS, v. 10, n. 15, APR 2021. (19/01255-9)

LOEFFLER, FELIX F.; VIANA, ISABELLE F. T.; FISCHER, NICO; COELHO, DANILO F.; SILVA, CAROLINA S.; PURIFICACAO, JR., ANTONIO F.; ARAUJO, CATARINA M. C. S.; LEITE, BRUNO H. S.; DURAES-CARVALHO, RICARDO; MAGALHAES, TEREZA; et al. Identification of a Zika NS2B epitope as a biomarker for severe clinical phenotypes. RSC MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY, v. 12, n. 9, JUL 2021. (19/01255-9)

ANDREATA-SANTOS, ROBERT; JANINI, LUIZ M. R.; DURAES-CARVALHO, RICARDO. From Alpha to Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants: What their evolutionary signatures can tell us?. Journal of Medical Virology, JAN 2022. (21/03684-4, 21/05661-1, 20/08943-5, 19/01255-9)

DOS SANTOS PEREIRA ANDRADE, ANA CLAUDIA; CAMPOLINA-SILVA, GABRIEL HENRIQUE; QUEIROZ-JUNIOR, CELSO MARTINS; DE OLIVEIRA, LEONARDO CAMILO; LACERDA, LARISSE DE SOUZA BARBOSA; PIMENTA GAGGINO, JORDANE CLARISSE; OLIVEIRA DE SOUZA, FILIPE RESENDE; CHAVES, IAN DE MEIRA; PASSOS, INGREDY BEATRIZ; TEIXEIRA, DANIELLE CUNHA; et al. A Biosafety Level 2 Mouse Model for Studying Betacoronavirus- Induced Acute Lung Damage and Systemic Manifestations. Journal of Virology, v. 95, n. 22, NOV 2021. (19/01255-9)