BBSRC grant fuels research to unlock the genetics of disease spread

April 2025: A new BBSRC grant is set to explore the genetic factors influencing variation in host infectiousness. By using fruit flies as a model, researchers aim to uncover genetic and immune pathways that impact how individuals transmit pathogens.

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.

The £1.4 million initiative is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and led by Dr Pedro Vale (School of Biological Sciences) and Co-I Professor Andrea Wilson (Roslin Institute).  

Entitled “What makes a super-spreader? Genetic control, evolutionary constraints and epidemiological implications of heterogeneity in host infectiousness”, the study aims to unravel the complex genetic factors influencing how pathogens spread through populations, focussing on the largely uncharted territory of genetic contributions to host infectiousness.

A new focus

Traditionally, research has centred on genetic resistance to disease. However, this new project highlights an equally critical aspect: individual differences in infectiousness, or the ability to transmit pathogens. This exploration has the potential to enhance our understanding of disease dynamics and inform more effective control strategies.

The contribution of host genetics to widespread phenotypic variation in infectiousness is largely unknown for most infectious diseases. The major aim of this work is to advance our fundamental understanding of the role of host heterogeneity in infectiousness, and provide insight into biomarkers for disease control and prevention in both animal and human populations.

Pedro Vale Principal Investigator, School of Biological Sciences

Addressing global health threats

Given the pervasive threat of emerging infectious diseases in human, animal and plant populations, this work will focus on the genetic and immune determinants and evolutionary constraints underlying individual variation in host infectiousness, specifically:

  1. the contribution of host genetics to infectiousness
  2. how individual differences in infectiousness result in variable epidemic outcomes.
  3. how immune pathways regulate variation in infectiousness
  4. the evolutionary constraints and the potential evolution of infectiousness

With emerging infectious diseases posing significant threats to human, animal, and plant populations worldwide, this research will inform disease management strategies. 

Epidemiologists have long known about the important role of superspreaders in large scale epidemics. In this project we will uncover to what extent superspreading is genetically determined and under evolutionary constraints. 

Andrea Wilson Co-Investigator, Roslin Institute

Alignment with UKRI strategic goals

Aligned with UKRI’s Strategic Delivery Plan, the research supports world-class bioscience by enhancing knowledge of life's fundamental rules and achieving impactful health insights. This pioneering effort could pave the way for innovative strategies in managing infectious diseases, benefiting both animal and human health globally.

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