MOLECULAR PATHOGENESIS AND ADAPTATION OF SARS-COV-2 IN WHITE-TAILED DEER AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SPILLOVER TO CATTLE AND PIGS

The overall goal of this project is to evaluate the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from deer to cattle and pigs with the following independent objectives:Characterize the difference in susceptibility and replication kinetics of recent and emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants in cattle, pig, and WTD respiratory cells.Characterize differential innate immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 variants in cattle, pigs, and WTD respiratory cells.Serosurveillance to monitor SARS-CoV-2 spillover infection of cattle and pigs.