Athens, Ga. The rate at which the rabies virus evolves in bats may depend heavily upon the ecological traits of its hosts, according to researchers at the University of Georgia, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. Their study, published May 17 in the journal PLoS Pathogens, found that the host's geographical location was the most accurate predictor of the viral rate of evolution. Rabies viruses in tropical and sub-tropical bat species evolved nearly four times faster than viral variants in bats in temperate regions.
"Species that are widely distributed can have different behaviors in different geographical areas," said Daniel Streicker, a postdoctoral associate in the UGA Odum School of Ecology and the study's leader. "Bats in the tropics are active year-round, so more rabies virus transmission events occur per year. Viruses in hibernating bats, on the other hand, might lose up to six months' worth of opportunities for transmission."
Understanding the relationship between host ecology and viral evolution rates could shed light on the transmission dynamics of other viruses, such as influenza, that occur across regions, infect multiple host species or whose transmission dynamics are impacted by anthropogenic change.
The team's findings could eventually help public health officials better predict when rabies virus transmission could happen in different environments and as environments change, but Streicker cautions that more research into the rabies virus genome and bats' overwintering ecology is needed.
"If viral evolution is faster, it could potentially lead to greater genetic diversity in crucial parts of the viral genome that allow it to shift hosts," he said. "For rabies, we don't yet know what those are, so identifying them will be key. Similarly, before understanding whether climate change will speed viral evolution, we need a better idea of how envi
'/>"/>
| Contact: Daniel Streicker dstrike@uga.edu 706-542-3485 University of Georgia Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. Why the swamp sparrow is hitting the high notes
2. How your body clock avoids hitting the snooze button
3. Chances of hurricane hitting Texas discussed at UH conference
4. Study shows hunger hitting closer to home
5. Hitting target in cancer fight now easier with new nanoparticle platform, UCLA scientists say
6. Hitting moving RNA drug targets
7. SNM releases new fact sheet on breast cancer and molecular imaging
8. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News reports on growing role of molecular diagnostics
9. A new journal where molecular biology meets clinical research
10. Scientists trace molecular origin of proportional development
11. New molecular insight into vertebrate brain development
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |