Evolution of virus resistance in D. melanogaster: effects of the endosymbiont Wolbachia and polymorphisms in the gene pastrel in a selection experiment

• Grant number: 15/08307-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: September 15, 2015
• End date: December 14, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Animal Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Rodrigo Cogni
• Grantee: Rodrigo Cogni
• Host Investigator: Francis Michael Jiggins
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Cambridge, England

Abstract

An important question in evolutionary biology is to understand how the selection imposed by pathogens lead to genetic changes in the host, and how this response can be influenced by other ecological interactions, such as the presence of mutualist endosymbionts. The goal of this research abroad internship if to finish an already started evolution experiment that aims to test if the presence of the endosymbiont Wolbachia affects the evolutionary response caused by the selection imposed by a virus (DCV- Drosophila C virus) in Drosophila melanogaster populations. In the experiment, replicate populations that were genetically similar and differed only in the presence or absence of Wolbachia were infected with DCV for 10 generations. During the three months of the proposed internship the frequency of a polymorphism in the gene pastrel that is associated with DCV resistance and the level of resistance (survival time after infection and viral titer) in the different populations after selection will be measured. The internship will take place in the group of Prof. Frank Jiggins (Genetics department, Cambridge University, England). Additionally, this internship will be important to strengthen future collaborations between the Jiggins´ group and the research group that the proponent is establishing at USP. (AU)

Scientific publications

(6)

(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)

COGNI, RODRIGO; DING, SHUAI DOMINIQUE; PIMENTEL, ANDRE C.; DAY, JONATHAN P.; JIGGINS, FRANCIS M.. Wolbachia reduces virus infection in a natural population of Drosophila. COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY, v. 4, n. 1, NOV 25 2021. (15/08307-3, 13/25991-0)

PIMENTEL, ANDRE C.; BERALDO, CAMILA S.; COGNI, RODRIGO. Host-shift as the cause of emerging infectious diseases: Experimental approaches using Drosophila-virus interactions. GENETICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, v. 44, n. 1, 1, 2021. (15/08307-3, 17/11774-8, 16/09934-4, 13/25991-0)

CAO, CHUAN; COGNI, RODRIGO; BARBIER, VINCENT; JIGGINS, FRANCIS M.. Complex Coding and Regulatory Polymorphisms in a Restriction Factor Determine the Susceptibility of Drosophila to Viral Infection. Genetics, v. 206, n. 4, p. 2159-2173, AUG 2017. (15/08307-3, 13/25991-0)

COGNI, RODRIGO; CAO, CHUAN; DAY, JONATHAN P.; BRIDSON, CALUM; JIGGINS, FRANCIS M.. The genetic architecture of resistance to virus infection in Drosophila. Molecular Ecology, v. 25, n. 20, p. 5228-5241, OCT 2016. (15/08307-3, 13/25991-0)

ANDRÉ C. PIMENTEL; CAMILA S. BERALDO; RODRIGO COGNI. Host-shift as the cause of emerging infectious diseases: Experimental approaches using Drosophila-virus interactions. GENETICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, v. 44, n. 1, 2020-11-23. (16/09934-4, 15/08307-3, 17/11774-8, 13/25991-0)

PIMENTEL, ANDRE C.; CESAR, CASSIA S.; MARTINS, MARCOS; COGNI, RODRIGO. The Antiviral Effects of the Symbiont Bacteria Wolbachia in Insects. FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY, v. 11, JAN 29 2021. (19/03997-2, 15/08307-3, 13/25991-0, 18/01295-8)