STRUCTURAL INVESTIGATION OF THE HANTAAN VIRUS L PROTEIN

描述（改编自申请人的摘要）：布尼亚病毒代表 负链RNA病毒的最大家族。 每个都包含一个基因组 由包裹在核蛋白复合物中的三个RNA片段组成。 最 布尼亚病毒在昆虫媒介中繁殖，但有一个明显的例外 啮齿类动物携带的汉坦病毒。 汉滩病毒，最初的 汉坦病毒，首次被证明是韩国出血症的病原体 发烧，一种东方的地方病。 与汉滩病毒密切相关的病毒 然而，病毒在世界范围内分布，并与 出血性发热 由于最近突发的急性肺 西南部的一种综合征，也是由一种被称为Sin的汉坦病毒引起的 Nombre病毒（SNV），在其他地区发现更多病例 的国家，和几个新物种的特征， 在北美的汉坦病毒，重要的是要获得一个详细的 了解汉坦病毒的生命周期。 的长期目标 应用是阐明汉坦病毒mRNA合成的机制， RNA复制 在本建议书中，申请人将重点开发一个 病毒L蛋白的拓扑图 由于预期的困难， 在获得大量的纯L蛋白质足以进行结构分析方面， 研究，我们提出了一种新的方法来生成，识别和 表征L蛋白的活性亚结构域。 的结果 拟议的研究将作为未来研究病毒的基础。 转录和复制。

DESCRIPTION (adapted from applicant's abstract): Bunyaviruses represent the largest family of negative stranded RNA viruses. Each contains a genome consisting of three RNA segments wrapped in a nucleoprotein complex. Most Bunyaviruses are propagated in an insect vector with the notable exception of Hantaviruses which are carried in rodents. Hantaan virus, the initial Hantavirus, was first shown to be the causative agent of Korean Hemorraghic Fever, a disease endemic in the Orient. Viruses closely related to Hantaan virus, however, have a worldwide distribution and to be associated with hemorraghic fever. With the recent unexpected outbreak of acute pulmonary syndrome in the Southwest, also caused by a hantavirus referred to as Sin Nombre Virus (SNV), the identification of additional cases in other regions of the country, and the characterization of several new species of hantavirus in North America, it is important to obtain a detailed understanding of the hantavirus life cycle. The long-term goals of the application are to elucidate the mechanisms of hantavirus mRNA synthesis and RNA replication. In this proposal, the applicant will focus on developing a topological map of the viral L protein. Due to the anticipated difficulty in obtaining large amounts of pure L protein sufficient for structural studies, we propose a novel approach to generating, identifying and characterizing active subdomains of the L protein. The results of the proposed studies will serve as the groundwork for future studies on viral transcription and replication.