The Evolution of Viral Emergence

The Evolution of Viral Emergence

The Evolution of Viral Emergence (#75)

Edward C Holmes ¹

Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, School of Biological Sciences and Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

RNA viruses are of great biological importance because of their role as agents of disease and their presumed similarity to some of the earliest replicating molecules. I will first present an overview of the ‘rules’ of evolutionary change in RNA viruses. The central concept here is that the major aspects of RNA evolution and life-history – from the way they organize their genomes to their ability to jump species boundaries – reflect an intrinsically high rate of mutation. I will also show how recent studies have revealed an amazing biodiversity of viruses in arthropods that is changing our perspective on the nature of the virosphere, as well as on viral origins and evolution. In the second part of my seminar I will examine how viruses emerge in new hosts and how virulence might evolve following a host jump. The key question here is what can we predict about viral emerge? Mathematical models suggest that when viruses like HIV or avian influenza jump into human populations, evolution in the subsequent epidemic(s) can make the disease more harmful or less harmful depending on the biological particulars. I will briefly examine the canonical case study of the evolution of virulence – the attenuation of myxoma virus following its introduction as a biological control into the European rabbit populations of Australia and Europe. I will use comparative genomics on archived isolates to determine the molecular changes that underpin the virulence evolution seen in the two epidemics, in turn making general conclusions about the evolution of pathogen emergence and virulence.

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Holmes, E.C

Edward (Eddie) Holmes is an ARC Australian Laureate Fellow at the University of Sydney, with concurrent Professorial appointments in the School of Life & Environmental Sciences and the School of Medical Sciences. Prior to joining the University of Sydney, Eddie was the Verne M. Willaman Chair in the Life Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University, USA. Eddie received his undergraduate degree from the University of London (1986) and his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge (1990). Following that, he performed postdoctoral research at the Universities of California (Davis), Edinburgh and Oxford. Between 1993-2004 he held various positions at the University of Oxford, including University Lecturer in Evolutionary Biology and Fellow of New College. His research focuses on the emergence, evolution and spread of RNA viruses, with special emphasis on revealing the genetic and epidemiological processes that underpin viral emergence, the molecular epidemiology of important human and animal pathogens, understanding the nature of global virus diversity, and the major mechanisms of virus evolution. He played a key role in the initial discovery of SARS-CoV-2 (the causative agent of COVID-19) and was the first person globally to release the genome sequence of virus. In 2003 he was awarded the Scientific Medal by the Zoological Society of London. In 2008 he became a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. He was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA) in 2015 and a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2017. He has published over 630 peer-reviewed papers that have been cited more than 90,000 times (h-index = 145).

The Evolution of Viral Emergence (#75)

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