PhD project: Evolutionary interactions between flaviviruses

Members of the genus Flavivirus are characterised into different groups based on their host range. Some flaviviruses are arthropod-borne (arbovirus), which means they infect vertebrates and arthropods alternatively, while insect specific flaviviruses (ISFs) replicate exclusively in arthropods. Both groups are found in mosquitoes co-circulating the same areas, increasing the probability of sequential infections. My PhD project examines interactions between the two viruses in the vector and how these interactions might affect the evolutionary trajectory of both the arbovirus and the ISF. For this, we combine experimental evolution, high-throughput sequencing and population genetics.