Sabbatical Ellen Decaestecker: The role of viral and multiple infections in hostmicrobiome coevolutionary adaptations.

The aim is to extend my research expertise from the microbiome and parasite research to multiple infections with a focus on viral infections and their role in co-evolutionary adaptations in order to prepare an ERCadv Grant. Until now, co-evolution has mainly been investigated in the context of simple, microbial infections, while it is clear that viruses can play an important role. One way of doing this is by integrating viral genomes that cause strong shifts in the host genome. The aim is to link this viral perspective to the role of the microbiome in the host in general. Which microbiomes are associated with such multiple (inclusive viral) infections and what effect do they have in co-evolutionary dynamics? This especially interesting with respect to large genomic, molecular changes, including transposon switching and horizontal gene transfer. The aim is to map out the molecular changes through theoretical models and molecular research, both of which I would like to apply for a sabbatical in the Maladies Infectuses et Vecteurs Ecologie, Genetique, Evolution et Controle-IRD (MIVEGEC) & CEFE: Centre d'écologie Fonctionelle et Evolutive at CNRS Montpellier.