Structure, Assembly, and Molecular Interactions of Filamentous Plant Viruses

该项目包括确定一些柔性丝状植物病毒的三维分子结构。它是对丝状植物病毒进行全面、完整的结构分析的一部分，旨在解释病毒感染、传播和宿主相互作用的过程，并了解这些重要病毒之间的关系。要研究的病毒包括痘病毒、马铃薯Y病毒和闭锁病毒组的成员。痘病毒作为基础病毒学和细胞生物学的模型具有重要意义；它们在生物技术方面具有巨大的潜力，它们对农业造成的损害具有相当重要的意义。马铃薯Y病毒造成了世界上一半的病毒性作物损害，由于它们与动物鼻病毒(导致普通感冒、脊髓灰质炎和口蹄疫等多种疾病)的密切关系而引起人们的兴趣。冠状冠状病毒也具有重要的农业意义。为了充分利用柔性丝状病毒作为模型和生物技术的潜力，并在农业中对抗它们的影响，需要原子细节的三维结构知识。除了这个小组的初步结果外，还没有任何已知的柔性丝状病毒的三维结构。待确定的病毒结构将包括最重要的马铃薯痘病毒，马铃薯X病毒，以及马铃薯Y病毒大豆花叶病毒和小麦条纹花叶病毒以及闭锁病毒甜菜黄化病毒。结构将通过低温电子显微镜和X射线纤维衍射来确定；从低温电子显微镜得到的模型将被用作使用纤维衍射数据进行更详细分析的起点。本实验室开发的纤维衍射样品制备方法大大提高了马铃薯Y病毒和马铃薯Y病毒的数据质量；在本项目开始之前，还没有从马铃薯Y病毒获得有用的衍射数据。更广泛的影响将通过将研究和教育相结合，并通过将这项研究应用于作物保护和植物生物技术的新发展，特别是在生产具有药用价值的产品方面。该实验室拥有强大的本科生和K-12教师参与研究的计划，项目活动将包括本科生、研究生和K-12教师和学生。

This project encompasses the determination of the three-dimensional molecular structures of a number of flexible filamentous plant viruses. It is part of a comprehensive, integrated structural analysis of the filamentous plant viruses, aimed at explaining the processes of viral infection, dissemination, and host interactions, and understanding the relationships among these important viruses. The viruses to be studied include members of the potexvirus, potyvirus, and closterovirus groups. The potexviruses are of great significance as models for fundamental virology and cell biology; they have enormous potential in biotechnology, and they are of considerable importance for the damage they cause in agriculture. The potyviruses are responsible for half the viral crop damage in the world, and are of interest because of their close relationship to the animal rhinoviruses (responsible for such diverse conditions as the common cold, polio, and foot-and-mouth disease). The closteroviruses are also of major agricultural significance. To utilize the full potential of the flexible filamentous viruses as models and in biotechnology, and to combat their effects in agriculture, knowledge of three-dimensional structures in atomic detail is required. Apart from this group's preliminary results, there are no three-dimensional structures known for any flexible filamentous virus. Virus structures to be determined will include the most important of the potexviruses, potato virus X, as well as the potyviruses soybean mosaic virus and wheat streak mosaic virus and the closterovirus beet yellows virus. Structures will be determined by cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray fiber diffraction; models derived from cryo-electron microscopy will be used as starting points for more detailed analysis using fiber diffraction data. Fiber diffraction specimen preparation methods developed in this laboratory have greatly improved the quality of data from potexviruses and potyviruses; before this project began, no useful diffraction data had been obtained from potyviruses. Broader impacts will be through the integration of research and education, and through the application of this research to new developments in crop protection and plant biotechnology, particularly in the production of pharmacologically useful products. This laboratory has a strong program of involvement of undergraduates and K-12 teachers in research, and the project activities will include undergraduates, graduate students, and K-12 teachers and students.