Structural Studies of Virus Assembly & DNA Packaging

描述：(改编自《调查者？S摘要》)：病毒感染是一种 人类疾病的重要原因，从相对较小的疾病，如 像普通感冒一样威胁生命的疾病，如癌症和艾滋病。因此， 了解病毒的生命周期是任何研究的重要组成部分 旨在改善人类健康的计划。尽管付出了相当大的努力，但细节 病毒的组装情况尚不完全清楚。具体地说，通过这种机制 病毒基因组被包装进病毒衣壳中，但仍不清楚。许多人 拖尾双链DNA(DsDNA)杆状噬菌体利用分子马达 将他们的基因组转移到预先形成的病毒衣壳中。双链DNA动物病毒 如疱疹病毒和腺病毒被认为将它们的DNA包装在 相似的款式。该提案的目标是模拟装配过程和 模型病毒噬菌体cp29的基因组包装机械 低温电子显微镜和X射线结晶学的互补技术。 这两种方法的综合使得知识的深度变得不可能 单独使用方法。这项工作有望为我们提供更深层次的理解 大分子组装的基本原理，扩展了我们对 分子马达在自然界中的应用和设计，并提出了新颖的建议 抗病毒治疗药物的发展战略。

DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from the Investigator?s abstract): Viral infection is a significant cause of human illness, ranging from relatively minor ailments such as the common cold to life threatening diseases such as cancer and AIDS. Thus, understanding the viral life cycle is an important component of any research program aimed improving human health. Despite considerable efforts, the details of virus assembly are not entirely clear. In particular, the mechanism by which the viral genome is packaged into the virus capsid remains obscure. Many of the tailed, double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) bactenophages use a molecular motor to tranlocate their genomes into a preformed viral capsid. dsDNA animal viruses such as herpes virus and adenovirus are believed to package their DNA in a similar fashion. The goal of this proposal is to model the assembly process and genome packaging machinery of the model virus bacteriophage cp29 using the complementary techniques of cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography. The synthesis of these two methods allows a depth of knowledge not possible using approach alone. This work is expected to provide a deeper understanding of the principles underlying macromolecular assembly, extend our knowledge of the use and design of molecular motors in nature, and to suggest novel strategies for the development of anti-viral therapeutics.