Structural Studies of Virus Assembly & DNA Packaging

描述：（改编自研究者？病毒感染是一种 人类疾病的重要原因，从相对轻微的疾病， 从普通感冒到威胁生命的疾病，如癌症和艾滋病。因此，在本发明中， 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。尽管付出了巨大的努力， 病毒的组装过程还不完全清楚。特别是， 病毒基因组被包装到病毒衣壳中仍然不清楚。许多 加尾双链DNA（dsDNA）杆菌利用分子马达 将它们的基因组转移到预先形成的病毒衣壳中。dsDNA动物病毒 例如疱疹病毒和腺病毒，被认为将它们的DNA包装在 相似的时尚。该提案的目标是对装配过程进行建模， 使用该方法的模型病毒噬菌体cp29的基因组包装机器 低温电子显微镜和X射线晶体学的互补技术。 这两种方法的综合使知识的深度不可能 单独使用方法。这项工作有望提供更深入的了解 大分子组装的基本原理，扩展了我们对 自然界中分子马达的使用和设计，并提出新的 发展抗病毒疗法的策略。

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.