High-resolution phylodynamics and its translational application in the biotechnological context: identification, design and validation of peptides from Mayaro (MAYV), Oropouche (OROV) and Yellow Fever (YFV) viruses

• Grant number: 22/12861-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: November 01, 2022
• End date: April 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biology
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo Durães de Carvalho
• Grantee: Junior Olimpio Martins
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 19/01255-9 - Bats: epidemiological surveillance, high-resolution phylodynamics, search and design of peptides of biotechnological interest in emergent and reemerging viruses, AP.JP

Abstract

Brazil suffers from constant outbreaks and epidemics caused by several types of arboviruses. According to data from the Ministry of Health, the arboviruses Mayaro (MAYV), Oropouche (OROV), and Yellow Fever (YFV) have been responsible for an increasing number of human infections throughout its territory. Worthy of note, in addition to these reports, there are no commercially available diagnostic kits for the detection of these pathogens, which may contribute to a massive masking of these infections and the promotion of non-targeted therapies, affecting, in a way, the Public Health structure of the country. The present project focuses on the application of Bioinformatics and Molecular Evolution (large-scale phylodynamics) tools to understand the evolutionary dynamics of MAYV, OROV and YFV. Additionally, through state-of-the-art approaches to evolution and molecular systematics, the study aims to provide important contributions to workflows and platforms focused on the identification, design (molecular dynamics approaches) and, through immunoassays, validation of target-specific peptides that can be exploited as diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. (AU)