Bombali ebolavirus: a model for the evolution and ecology of ebolaviruses and a potential public health concern (BEMEP)

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Fabian Leendertz
• Subject Area: Parasitology and Biology of Tropical Infectious Disease Pathogens
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 444844751

Since 2014, ebolaviruses have repeatedly emerged in sub-Saharan Africa, which witnessed their quasi undisrupted activity and the two most severe outbreaks ever. Despite considerable efforts, the natural host(s) of these zoonotic agents remain elusive, which prevents a proper understanding of the processes leading to the emergence of ebolaviruses.Recently, a new ebolavirus, the Bombali virus (BOMV), was identified and unambiguously linked to free-tailed bats. BOMV could be used as a powerful model to investigate the ecology and evolution of ebolaviruses, which at the moment remains absolutely mysterious. The exact risk that this virus poses to human health also awaits to be properly assessed.Here, we propose to simultaneously tackle both questions, taking advantage of the capacities recently developed in the framework of a collaboration between the German partners (Drs. Leendertz and Calvignac-Spencer, RKI, Berlin) and the Tanzanian partner of this proposal (Dr. Mangu, Mbeya Medical Research Centre, Mbeya, Tanzania). These capacities have already allowed us to detect BOMV in local free-tailed bats.Using a combination of bat trapping, sampling and marking and molecular methods, we will characterize the association of BOMV with their natural hosts in their evolutionary, ecological and biological dimensions, unveiling the long and short-term drivers of BOMV diversification and circulation. We will also assess the public health impact of BOMV by investigating the exposure of local populations and potential association with febrile illness.The project will allow for a very significant extension of the theoretical and technical portfolio of the Tanzanian partner. It will notably include a very strong capacity building component aimed at setting up onsite high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatic capabilities.Knowledge and know-how will be transferred to the Tanzanian partner and a local early career researcher (ECR) by means of an ambitious but realistic hands-on training program. The local ECR soft skills will also be enhanced, inter alia, through two secondments periods in Germany and France.This project will address public health-relevant questions pertaining to ebolavirus ecology, evolution and emergence. It will also support the local development of One Health approaches and pathogen genomic surveillance. Finally, it will measurably reinforce the laboratory of the Tanzanian partner and launch the research career of a local ECR.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Tanzania
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr. Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer
• International Co-Applicant: Dr. Chacha Mangu