Virus Tolerance in Plants and Pollinators and its Effects on Their Interactions

Due to the rapidly-evolving nature of viruses, host resistance to virus infection may be quickly overcome. In contrast, host tolerance allows for virus accumulation with little to no disease, is thought to be attributed to many genes, and may therefore provide more durable disease management. Although tolerance is common in wild ecosystems, the mechanisms behind virus tolerance in plant and insect systems remain poorly understood. Tolerance appears to be less common in closely related domesticated hosts and, therefore, domesticated species offer an opportunity to study factors influencing the presence of tolerance. These factors may be contributing to increased disease susceptibility in domesticated compared to wild hosts. My research focuses on understanding mechanisms of virus tolerance in domesticated and wild plants and pollinators, and how viral infections in plants may modify pollinator foraging behavior and plant fitness. I use squash plants (Cucurbita spp.) and honey bees (Apis mellifera) as models because they have been heavily bred by humans, yet wild or unmanaged (feral) populations persist in nature.