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PARTNER N° |
27a |
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NAME OF INSTITUTION |
UFMG |
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TEAM |
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Team Teixeira: Our team studies mechanisms of disease after viral infection and the possibility that certain molecular pathways may be targeted in order to prevent disease, even in the presence of infection. An important aspect of studying pathogenesis relates to the development of adequate animal models. In this consortium, we aim to develop animal models of zika infection in marmosets to study immune responses and mechanisms of disease.
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KEY CONTACT PERSON(S) |
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Key scientific contact person 1(Team leader) |
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Name |
Mauro M Teixeira |
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Photo |
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Position in the Institution |
Professor |
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Email address |
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Phone number |
+55 31 3409 2651 |
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Mobile phone number |
+55 31 999945133 |
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Postal address |
Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia |
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Role in the Consortium |
WP: 4 |
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Task: 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 |
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Sub-task: 4.1.2-4.1.5, 4.2.2 and 4.2.5, 4.3.2 |
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Role: Develop an animal model of ZIKV infection in adult and pregnant marmosets (Callithrix penicillata) to examine viral load, immune and pathological responses in pregnant and non-pregnant animals. To study the effects of ZIKV infection on the fetus during pregnancy.
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PARTNER N° |
27b |
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NAME OF INSTITUTION |
UFMG |
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TEAM |
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Team Marques: Our team is specialized in the study of animal viromes with special interest in insect viruses that can be transmitted to humans and other vertebrates or affect the ability of the insect to function as a vector.
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KEY CONTACT PERSON(S) |
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Key scientific contact person 1(Team leader) |
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Name |
João Trindade Marques |
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Photo |
Please insert a photo(HD,jpeg)
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Position in the Institution |
Professor |
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Email address |
jtm@ufmg.br |
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Phone number
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+55 31 3409 2623 |
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Mobile phone number |
+55 31 99216 1969 |
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Postal address |
Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia |
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Role in the Consortium |
WP: 6 |
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Task: 6.3 |
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Sub-task: 6.3.3 |
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Role: Coordination of Sub-Taks 6.3.3 in work package 6 regarding the study of Zika vectors. Here we aim to study insect viruses that can influence the capacity of mosquitoes to transmit infections. It is currently unknown how many different viruses circulate in mosquitoes in the wild and whether these affect the circulation of medically relevant arboviruses. The rapid spread of ZIKV in the current outbreak points to the possible contribution of an external factor. We propose a highly sensitive and unbiased metagenomic approach to analyze a representative number of Zika infected and uninfected mosquitoes captured in the wild. This approach takes advantage of the fact that virus-derived small RNAs are produced by the insect immune system. Of note, it can be applied to single mosquitoes and can identify new viral sequences even if they do not share any similarity with sequences deposited in current databases. To confirm our metagenomic results, we will test the presence of the viral sequences in the genomic DNA extracted from the same insect where they were identified. Upon identification of new viruses, we will collect more mosquitoes from the same endemic region to isolate and characterize them, in particular regarding their impact on the transmission of ZIKV.
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