Overview
Topic status: We're looking for students to study this topic.
Populations of RNA viruses in individual hosts are extremely diverse because of the error-prone nature of the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Some of the genetic diversity is deleterious and is removed by selective sweeps, some is neutral and some may enhance the fitness of the population. Remarkably, however, most members of a viral population are less fit than the population as a whole. Just as the actions of a group of humans or a flock of sheep are far less predictable than the actions of an individual, there is no clear understanding of how a population of viruses will behave in any particular circumstance. This unpredictability becomes apparent when there are major outbreaks of disease. Our hypothesis is that outbreaks of infection involving RNA viruses can be predicted from changes in population dynamics. The aim of the project is to identify the nature and magnitude of changes in individual populations of dengue and Ross River viruses as they move through varying cycles of transmission in vertebrate and mosquito hosts.
Approaches: The project will study populations of viruses directly in human tissues as well as in experiments in vitro where the cell type and conditions of infection can be controlled. The project will involve cell culture, propogation of viruses in a range of cell types, gene sequencing, phylogenetic analyses.
References:
- Weaver S and Barrett A (2004) Nature Reviews Microbiology 2, 789-801
- Grenfell B et al. (2004) Science 303, 327-332
- Taylor P and Day T (2004) Nature 428, 611-612
- Study level
- Honours
- Supervisors
- QUT
- Organisational unit
Science and Engineering Faculty
- Research area
- Contact
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Please contact the supervisor.
Professor John Aaskov
