Physics of Archaeal Viruses

该奖项支持理论研究和教育，旨在对感染古生菌的病毒的蛋白质外壳或衣壳的独特特征进行物理描述。这些病毒在极端的温度、盐度和酸度环境下是稳定的，就像在间歇泉或油井中发现的那样。这使得它们对于理解自组装机制，结构完整性，甚至是在这种极端条件下设计使用的材料的适应性尤为重要。许多古细菌病毒具有特殊的负高斯曲率衣壳，使得现有的病毒结构分类不适用。许多古细菌病毒衣壳的一个重要特征是，它们由蛋白质-脂质复合物组成，在极端酸度或盐浓度的条件下，它们在大变形下异常稳定。pi将利用负高斯曲率表面物理学、脂质双层物理学、复合材料物理学和离子溶液中分子静电学等方法研究病毒的这些蛋白质外壳。他们的工作将产生一种理论，能够解释古细菌病毒独特的“多形性”的物理机制。这些发展可能为长期存在的二维自由悬浮层的熔化和形状波动的统计力学问题提供令人着迷的实现。这个跨学科研究项目将为有兴趣在生物物理学新领域工作的新物理科学家提供培训，并继续支持科学推广活动，包括维护一个开源软件包，用于在软物质生物物理学中对病毒和其他结构进行连续建模，访问当地的K-12学校，以及招募本科生和高中生进行本科生研究。它将有助于发展生物物理学的创新教育活动，特别是在物理科学和工程之间建立相互作用的活动。古生菌界的许多单细胞微生物是在诸如温泉间歇泉、油井甚至海底等恶劣环境中发现的。在这些极端条件下，使分子结合在一起的物理和化学相互作用发生了巨大的变化，以至于对古细菌的研究引起了人们对外星生命可能具有的特性的猜测。尽管这些生物在如此恶劣的环境中具有无与伦比的坚固性，但它们很容易受到另一种生物威胁——古细菌病毒的影响。古细菌病毒已经进化到劫持它们感染的细胞的蛋白质合成机制，并通过与古细菌相同的极端物理和化学相互作用进行自我组装。该奖项将支持研究病毒的被动蛋白质构建块如何能够在自然界中自动组装成称为“衣壳”的封闭外壳，就像拼图一样，可以自己组装在一起。pi将通过将描述软生物材料和分子的物理特性的数学方法与开发用于分析复合材料的数学技术相结合来实现这一目标，因为复合材料通常用于航空航天、机械和土木工程中强而轻的结构设计。这项研究有望改变设计新合成材料的方式，并产生在极端物理环境中创造坚固和适应性所需的专有技术。来自物理学和工程学的研究团队将为新一代的科学家提供培训，这些科学家对生物物理学这个新的、高度跨学科的领域感兴趣。该奖项将为科学推广活动提供支持，包括维护和免费提供用于病毒和其他软生物材料数学建模的软件包，访问当地K-12学校，以及招募本科生和高中生进行本科研究。它将为发展生物物理学的创新教学活动，特别是在物理科学和工程学之间建立相互作用的活动提供资金。

Technical SummaryThis award supports theoretical research and education with the aim to develop a physical description of the unique features of the protein shells, or capsids, of viruses that infect the archaea. These viruses are stable under environments with extremes of temperature, salinity, and acidity as might be found in geysers or oil wells. This makes them particularly important for understanding the mechanisms of self-assembly, structural integrity, and even adaptability of materials designed for use under such extreme conditions. Many archaeal viruses have extraordinary capsids with negative Gauss curvature, rendering inapplicable the existing structural classification of viruses. An important characteristic of many archaeal virus capsids is that they consist of protein-lipid composites that are unusually stable against large deformation, and under conditions of extreme acidity or salt concentration.The PIs will study these protein shells of viruses by utilizing methods from the physics of surfaces with negative Gauss curvature, the physics of lipid bilayers, the physics of composite materials, and electrostatics of molecules in ionic solutions. Their work will result in a theory capable of explaining the physical mechanisms responsible for the "pleomorphism" exhibited uniquely by archaeal viruses. These developments may provide fascinating realizations of the long-standing problem of the statistical mechanics of the melting and shape fluctuations of two-dimensional freely suspended layers. This interdisciplinary research project will provide training to new physical scientists interested in working on a new area of biological physics, and continued support for scientific outreach activities that include the maintenance of an open source software package for continuum modeling of viruses and other structures in soft matter biophysics, visits to local K-12 schools, and recruitment of undergraduate and high school students for undergraduate research. It will contribute to development of innovative educational activities in biological physics, in particular activities that create interaction between the physical sciences and engineering. Nontechnical SummaryMany of the single-celled microorganisms of the archaea kingdom are found in severe environments such as hot-spring geysers, oil wells, or even beneath the bottom of the oceans. Under these extreme conditions the very physical and chemical interactions that hold molecules together are dramatically changed, so much so that the study of archea has caused speculation about the possible properties of extraterrestrial life. Despite their unparalleled robustness in such harsh environments, these organisms are susceptible to another biological threat - archaeal viruses - which have evolved to hijack the protein-synthesizing machinery of the cells they infect, and to self-assemble by means of the same extreme physical and chemical interactions that hold archaea together. This award will support research to understand how passive protein building blocks of viruses are able to assemble automatically in nature into closed shells called 'capsids,' like puzzles that can put themselves together. The PIs will achieve this goal through combining mathematical methods for describing the physics of soft biological materials and molecules with mathematical techniques developed to analyze composite materials, as often used in the design of strong and lightweight structures in aerospace, mechanical, and civil engineering. This research has the promise of transforming the way to design new synthetic materials and producing the know-how needed to create robust and adaptive in extreme physical environments. The team of investigators from physics and engineering will provide training to a new generation of scientists interested in working in a new and highly interdisciplinary area of biological physics. This award will provide support for scientific outreach activities that include the maintenance and free availability of software package for mathematical modeling of viruses and other soft biological materials, visits to local K-12 schools, and recruitment of undergraduate and high school students for undergraduate research. It will provide funds for development of innovative teaching activities in biological physics, in particular activities that create interaction between the physical sciences and engineering.