Project description:Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infect hundreds of millions of people each year with dangerous viral pathogens including dengue, yellow fever, Zika, and chikungunya. Progress in understanding the biology of this insect, and developing tools to fight it, depends on the availablity of a high-quality genome assembly. Here we use DNA proximity ligaton (Hi-C) and Pacific Biosciences long reads to create AaegL5 - a highly contiguous A. aegypti reference.
Project description:Host cells produce interferon (IFN) in response to viral infections. Secreted interferon results in the transcription and production of hundreds of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). A genome-wide CRISPR screen using IFN alpha-treated Huh7.5 cells was performed to determine which ISGs were required in order for host cells to suppress yellow fever virus (YFV) infection.
Project description:In this study, we describe a viral suppressor of RNA silencing encoded by the prototype flavivirus, yellow fever virus (YFV). We show that the YFV capsid protein inhibits RNA silencing in the mosquito Aedes aegypti by interfering with Dicer. These results suggest a molecular arms race between vector and pathogen underlies the continued existence of flaviviruses in nature.
Project description:Mechanisms of poor responses to vaccines remain unknown. Yellow fever-naïve adults were vaccinated with a yellow fever vaccine (YF-17D, Stamaril). Transcriptomic profilling of blood collected pre-vaccination and post-vaccination (day 3, 7, 14 and 84) was performed in order to identify candidate biomarkers of antibody response to the vaccine.
Project description:Central questions regarding the origin of memory CD8 T cells, their turnover and longevity in vivo are not well-defined in humans. Here, we have used the highly efficacious live yellow fever virus vaccine (YFV-17D) to address these issues in the context of a primary acute viral infection. We interrogated genome-wide CpG methylation of YFV tetramer-specific CD8 T cells. These findings provide a better understanding of how memory CD8 T cells are formed and maintained in humans.
