ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1687-0038
Date of Award
Spring 2025
Language
English
Embargo Period
4-28-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College/School/Department
Department of Biological Sciences
Program
Biology
First Advisor
Dr. Alexander Ciota
Second Advisor
Dr. Ing-Nang Wang
Committee Members
Dr. Alexander Ciota, Dr. Ing-Nang Wang, Dr. Cara Pager, Dr. Paul Turner
Keywords
Orthoflavivirus, Virus Evolution, West Nile virus, Arbovirus, Ecology, Culex pipiens
Subject Categories
Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Abstract
Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses), which are maintained in nature in complex transmission cycles involving hematophagic invertebrates and their vertebrate hosts, are the cause of a significant and expanding global health burden. Defining arbovirus-host interactions is necessary if we are to understand the adaptive and epidemiological potential of arboviruses. The results presented with West Nile virus (WNV Flaviviridae: Orthoflavivirus), are a compilation of such studies. WNV is the most prevalent arboviral pathogen in the U.S. and the most geographically distributed arbovirus in the world. Despite the evolutionary potential of these RNA viruses, WNV and other arboviruses have experienced only limited consensus level change. This relative evolutionary stasis has been identified utilizing primarily large, national datasets, or data collected over short periods of time, that may obscure the genetic signal of adaptation, and of a prospective advantage in mosquito vectors or avian hosts that may be restricted to a small geographic range. These studies utilize molecular epidemiology in conjunction with experimental studies to characterize and evaluate the directionally selected set of mutations comprising a unique and dominant WNV genotype and its phenotypic consequences. Taken together, these studies demonstrate the adaptive potential of WNV, and the importance of the emergence of adaptive mutations to sustained endemicity of an arbovirus species.
License
This work is licensed under the University at Albany Standard Author Agreement.
Recommended Citation
Bialosuknia, Sean M., "Adaptive Evolution Shapes the Transmissibility of West Nile Virus in New York State" (2025). Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present). 152.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/etd/152