# A general test of the genetic basis of parasite resistance across genetic and environmental contexts

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA · 2021 · $92,746

## Abstract

Project Summary
Infectious disease research has made it a priority to identify the genes that confer resistance to
infectious disease agents. Pursuing these genes in a diversity of organisms, including humans, has
revealed a fundamental obstacle: a gene may strongly predict parasite resistance in one environment
but not others, or against one parasite strain but not others. This context-dependence might explain
why genomic surveys have rarely been able to identify genes that consistently explain substantial
variation in disease resistance in humans. To gain a general understanding of the genes that matter
for parasite resistance, we must both control and account for the complexities of the natural
environments in which hosts encounter their parasites. My parent award addresses this need by
characterizing the genetic basis of parasite resistance across genetic and environmental contexts using
diverse host and parasite genotypes sampled from nature. My lab group uses a powerful model
system – the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and its natural parasite the microscopiridia
Nematocida parisii - that enables us to quickly and cheaply perform highly replicated experiments
and genomic analyses to examine genetic variants across contexts. We apply high-throughput
phenotyping, genome-wide association mapping, experimental evolution, and transgenic methods to
1) identify the loci that explain variation in parasite resistance in natural populations, 2) evaluate the
impact of parasite genotype on the expression of genetic variation for parasite resistance, and 3)
examine the sensitivity of resistance alleles to relevant environmental variation. The impact of my
parent award rests fundamentally upon our ability to rapidly phenotype many genotypes,
incorporating significant replication within and across contexts in conditions that minimize variation
arising from non-focal factors. Therefore, we are requesting a supplement to this parent award to
purchase an autosampler attachment for our large particle sorter that will increase the replication,
accuracy, and repeatability of our high-throughput phenotyping efforts. This supplement will directly
augment the impact of our ongoing projects on the scientific community, as well as provide long-term
support to my research program and my research community.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10388554
- **Project number:** 3R35GM137975-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Amanda K Gibson
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $92,746
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10388554

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10388554, A general test of the genetic basis of parasite resistance across genetic and environmental contexts (3R35GM137975-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10388554. Licensed CC0.

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