Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology

Pathogens ranging from coronavirus to influenza virus periodically undergo major evolutionary jumps in their phenotypes, enabling them to infect novel host species and evade host immune responses and interventions. Understanding the genetics of these events and the ecological context in which these events occur is important for mitigating associated adverse health outcomes.

Our research focuses on bluetongue virus (BTV) and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), which have segmented genomes like influenza and undergo reassortment regularly in transmission systems worldwide. These segmented viruses, transmitted by Culicoides midges in diverse ruminant communities, offer the possibility of understanding how multiple interacting mechanisms facilitate, or limit, opportunities for genetic exchange to occur between distinct virus strains through the process of reassortment.

The ecological context for the emergence of reassortant viral strains emphasizes the ecology of the Culicoides midges that vector these viruses. Life traits of both the viruses and vectors are highly temperature sensitive and the efficiency of transmission could be affected by imminent climate change, variability and crisis. Furthermore, transmission takes place in the context of diverse ruminant communities at the domesticated animal-wildlife interface, with interactions among those animals likely playing a role for diverse strains to meet and spread.

Our experimental system in North America is uniquely valuable for investigating this dynamic in that it offers a platform to intensively study one key midge vector species (Culicoides sonorensis) and multiple wild and domestic ruminant host species across regions with wide ecological gradients. Throughout our work, we integrate laboratory, field, and modeling approaches to address key questions in our research program.

The Mayo Lab is a part of the Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases at Colorado State University.