Objective Typically organisms face simultaneous attack from numerous pathogens. Despite this, interactions between different parasite species within the same host have not been investigated extensively. Studies indicate that competition for host resources between parasite species in the same host does occur, but the importance of this competition for disease evolution remains largely unresolved. In particular competition between different parasite species may have important implications for the levels of virulence experienced by the host population. Greater understanding of within-host dynamics between interacting parasite species should therefore help us understand what factors affect virulence and the extent to which parasites can manipulate and overcome the host immune system. This knowledge will have important implications for medical intervention strategies and the biological control of pests. We propose to study within-host competition between two microsporidian parasites (Vavraia culicis/Edhazardia aedis) in the Aedes aegypti mosquito-parasite model system. The mosquito Aedes aegypti is vector of a number of human diseases including dengue and yellow fever. Through comprehensive experimentation we will elucidate how infection with two parasite species affects various life-history traits of the host and how parasite growth and virulence are affected through time. This project will employ a wide range of experimental techniques to tackle and understand the evolution of virulence in mixed infections. Fields of science social sciencessociologydemographymortalitynatural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteinsmedical and health sciencesbasic medicineimmunologynatural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyinvertebrate zoologynatural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsspectroscopy Keywords Aedes aegypti Competition mixed parasites species infections virulence Programme(s) FP6-MOBILITY - Human resources and Mobility in the specific programme for research, technological development and demonstration "Structuring the European Research Area" under the Sixth Framework Programme 2002-2006 Topic(s) MOBILITY-2.1 - Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowships (EIF) Call for proposal FP6-2005-MOBILITY-5 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme EIF - Marie Curie actions-Intra-European Fellowships Coordinator CENTRE NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE-DELEGATION LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLON Address Route de mende, 1919 Montpellier France See on map Links Website Opens in new window EU contribution € 0,00
