Asher Leeks

@asherleeks.bsky.social

2985 Followers 1299 Following

We study social evolution in viruses. Assistant Professor @zoology.ubc.ca & @ubcbiodiversity.bsky.social asherleeks.com

Leeks Lab is recruiting. We study social evolution in viruses. We're recruiting for two fully funded PhD or MSc positions, starting from September 2026. Evolutionary theory / experimental microbiology / viral bioinformatics. Experience optional / enthusiasm essential. asherleeks.com/apply
Table 1 | Many studies have successfully used viral cheats to combat viruses in vivo, observing reduction in clinical severity, or even complete protection from viral challenge
Fig. 2 | Successful viral infections require the production of shared gene products. Two common examples include replicase enzymes for replicating the viral genome (here in yellow) or capsid protein subunits required for building the viral capsid (herein blue). These gene products can be exploited by non-producing mutants, called cheats, which benefit from them without contributing. A Cheat mutants often arise spontaneously, when error-prone replication results in shorter viral genomes which lack the regions that encode shared gene products. B In coinfection, these cheat mutants exploit gene pro-ducts encoded by full-length, cooperative viruses.Over the course of a cellular infection, cheats can out-compete full-length viruses by up to 10,000:1, even driving extinction of the viral population.