Dr. Nathan Grubaugh’s paper, detailing how mosquitoes transmit unique West Nile virus populations during each feeding episode, has been published in Cell Reports. Highlights from the paper include the following findings:
• Distinct virus populations are largely shaped by genetic drift
• West Nile virus evolution is characterized by cycles of diversification and selection
• Individual mosquitoes can transmit distinct virus populations during each bloodmeal
• Strong selection in birds purges most nonsynonymous mutations
http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/abstract/S2211-1247(17)30453-9
