Abstract Title
Inoculating Drosophila with Virally Infected Food
Abstract
As of late, a great concern in the world of public health is the spread of viral disease through human and wildlife populations. It is becoming more common for individuals to be simultaneously infected with more than one virus resulting in a new array of immune responses. To effectively mount a defense to prevent outbreaks, public health officials must understand the dynamics of viral interaction. We are using Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism to understand the dynamics of co-infection. Traditionally, infection in Drosophila has been achieved by microinjection, however to study real time viral adaptation it is important for inoculation to occur naturally. For this purpose we have been developing a feeding protocol that will yield a large percent infected. This will allow our future work to more accurately build a computer based mathematical model for understanding the viral dynamics of co-infection.
Inoculating Drosophila with Virally Infected Food
As of late, a great concern in the world of public health is the spread of viral disease through human and wildlife populations. It is becoming more common for individuals to be simultaneously infected with more than one virus resulting in a new array of immune responses. To effectively mount a defense to prevent outbreaks, public health officials must understand the dynamics of viral interaction. We are using Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism to understand the dynamics of co-infection. Traditionally, infection in Drosophila has been achieved by microinjection, however to study real time viral adaptation it is important for inoculation to occur naturally. For this purpose we have been developing a feeding protocol that will yield a large percent infected. This will allow our future work to more accurately build a computer based mathematical model for understanding the viral dynamics of co-infection.